Crooked Hearts
by SternAmBauch
Summary: She returns to Mystic Falls to save Elena, but hopes to save herself in the process as well. Set after 'The House Guest'. Damon/OC, Stefan/Elena, Caroline/Tyler, Bonnie/Jeremy
1. The Arrival

**Set after 'The House Guest'. Isobel didn't show up at Jenna's doorstep, it's the only thing I changed. Introducing a new character, Claire from Brighton, UK. This story will circle around Claire and Damon and all the other interesting relationships that are happening on the show. I do not really know where this will be going, but Claire has been on my mind for quite some time now, and I think she's really a fascinating character. Enjoy!**

**Proclaimer: I own nothing of the Vampire Diaries. All credit goes to CW and the brilliant L. J. Smith**

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**I**t had been 7 years since Claire last visited Mystic Falls, but it hadn't changed much. There was still this kind of small-town, sleepy touch to it. The shops were the same and the decoration looked very familiar. She let out a hearty moan and parked her rented Renault Clio in front of the Mystic Grill. It had been a long journey and she wanted to grab a bite of breakfast before visiting her old friend Elena Gilbert. When she was a kid, she spent almost all of her summers in this town. Her parents were good friends of Elena's, and the two girls were very close since childhood. When the Gilberts died, Claire desperately wanted to come and help Elena through this difficult time, but her parents wouldn't let her, as she had some issues of herself back then.

She was special, she knew it since she was an infant, but a year ago, she was struggling hard to accept this kind of lifestyle. All she wanted was a normal life, to find a man to love and have kids with, live in a little cottage at the coastline and hell, she even wanted a dog. But it just was not possible. She had accepted that fact now, but back then, Claire had a really hard time.

A lot of eyes turned when Claire entered the bar. She wore black high heels and a deep blue, strapless dress that ended way above her knee. Her shoulder-long, black hair was put together in a tight pony tail, decorated with a deep blue bow. A very pompous necklace was dangling in front of her chest, a big silver heart with little crystals in it. Her intense green eyes scanned the room for a second, before she headed off to a table right in the middle of the bar. She knew how to make an entrance and Claire was not afraid of having people look at her. All in all, it was a small town, and everyone would know that she was here before she could count to ten. When she grabbed the menu, a tattoo was visible on her right inner wrist. It read:

**You shall love your crooked neighbour**

**with your crooked heart.**

The lines were from one of her favourite poems, W. H. Auden's 'As I walked out one evening' and were sort of her motto. Claire was a real sucker for poetry, and as her family's highest priority was to love and be loved, it kind of fit, because Claire was having troubles with finding real love in this world. She had always been a bit of a wild child, and when puberty caught up with her and made her features fine as an italian stone madonna and her eyes mesmerizing like emeralds, boys were never something she was short of. All in all, she was a physical kind of person, and appreciated a fine body more than anything else. Even the slightest movement of a strongly defined biceps could make her go senseless. She was definitely a big fan of aestheticism.

While Claire studied the menu, someone sat down opposite her. She looked up and saw a very familiar, smiling face.

"Holy shit, Jeremy! Damn it, you grew up!" she said while getting up to pull Elena's little brother into a tight hug.

"Hello, Claire! Pretty surprised to see you here. You look awesome!", he said while checking her out from head to toe. Claire's grin became even wider. He REALLY grew up, she thought to herself. He was definitely hot.

They sat down again and the waiter came to get their order. She ordered some orange juice and waffles. Speechless, Claire was still staring at Jeremy, who grinned back in a very cute way.

"Okay, that's it! You stop being so freaking damn cute and sexy right now, or I'll swear to God, I'm gonna jump my best friend's little brother right here in front of the whole town!" she finally managed to say while pulling herself back from him a bit to catch her breath.

Jeremy's eyes widened and he started laughing. "Wow, you still swear a lot. And that annoying habit of being completely honest about everything is still there too, I see", he countered while running his fingers through his hair. So she made him nervous. Good to know. They looked at each other for a short moment, and then started laughing.

"I'm sorry Jer, it's just, you really are very handsome. Somehow, I still thought of you as that little boy who stalked us when we were doing girl things. But now... I mean, look at yourself! You've become a man. I'm still kind of processing that, so give me a minute, please!" Claire finally managed to say.

"It's okay. I have to say you're not so bad to look at either. But of course, I always had a bit of a crush on you", he winked at her and flashed that gorgeous smile again.

"I'm bloody serious, Jer, stop it! I'd rather you tell where Elena is instead of flirting with me", Claire told him while taking a very needed sip of the orange juice the waiter just placed in front of her.

"She's home, I guess. But maybe she's also at her boyfriend's. Did she know you would come? She didn't tell me a thing! How long will you be staying?" he eagerly asked her.

"No, no one knew. It is supposed to be kind of a surprise. I'm actually planning on staying a while. You know, to get around a bit", she replied.

"That's awesome!" he was still grinning and his eyes were locked on her. How was she going to stand that? It had just been too long since she had decent sex. 'Pull yourself together!' she thought to herself. 'There will be other men out there waiting for you, just not this one', she finally convinced herself.

They did some small talk after that, and all the while, Claire was admiring his movements. She could see his muscles under his shirt, and just imagined how he must look like without it, when her order came. Happy to have a distraction, she dug in. While she ate, he told her that he and Bonnie have become close the last couple of weeks, so she quickly restrained herself from considering him as possible 'prey'. Claire knew Bonnie too, and she sure was a good match for him. Nevertheless, she could sense that he had gone through a lot of pain these past few months, and that there was something he was not telling her. He tried to smile his worries off, but behind those hazel eyes, there was another story waiting to surface.

"You know, I think I should probably go now", she said after finishing off her waffles. She put some cash on the table and rose from her chair. "See you later?" she asked Jeremy, who had stood up too.

"Yeah, sure! It's really so good to see you again. Elena will be so glad to have you here", he said while pulling her into another hug. Oh, it felt so good... They lasted a bit too long for a normal, friendly hug, but Claire managed to pull herself together again, so she flashed him a million-dollar-smile while leaving the grill. This was going to be so interesting.

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**If you liked what you read, please let me know and I will post further chapters as soon as they're finished. Thanks a lot for reading!**

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	2. Meeting Damon

Claire headed out the Grill and got into her car. Something told her that Elena would definitely be at her boyfriend's, but she needed to find out where that was in the first place, so she made her way to Elena's home. When she got out of the car, she thought to herself how much the house still looked exactly the same as it did in her childhood. She slowly walked onto the porch and rang the bell. After hearing muffled voices inside, a woman in her thirties opened the door. She had light brown hair and a big smile on her face. Behind her stood a very tall and handsome man with dark blonde hair and very dreamy eyes. That must be Elena's aunt, Jenna.

"Hi, you must be Jenna, I'm Claire, a friend of Elena's. You probably won't remember, but I used to spent a few summers in Mystic Falls when I was little?" she introduced herself.

"Oh, no, sure I remember! From England, right? You're the daughter of Henry and Florence?" Jenna eagerly asked while shaking her hand.

"Yeah, right. I was planning a surprise visit to Elena, is she home?" Claire asked, being very grateful to the Jenna's friendliness.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, but she actually spent the night at Stefan's, her boyfriend. I honestly don't know when she will be back, do you wanna come in and wait?" Jenna offered.

"That's very kind of you, but I can't wait to finally see her, so if you could just tell me where he lives, maybe I could stop by?" Claire suggested.

"Yeah, sure! Let me just get a map so I can show you. Oh, and this is Alaric, by the way", Jenna introduced them as she hurried off to the living room.

Alaric's expression had changed a bit when Claire suggested to drive to Stefan's house. "You know what, I do need to talk to someone at Stefan's house, how about I drive you?" he asked her.

"Again, very nice of you, but I do not want to cause you any trouble, you should probably stay. I'm pretty sure, I'll find it myself", Claire responded and winked at him.

His forehead started to scrunch. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I would really like to go there with you", he insisted. Just then Jenna came back with a map.

"Okay, so you go up that lane, and then turn right. After a few minutes, an old house will appear. That's the one. Even though it looks a bit creepy from the outside, the inside is quite spectacular", she said while handing the map to Claire.

"Thanks a lot!" Claire said. And, looking at Alaric, "I will be fine on my own. Trust me, I can handle it", she said while winking again. Alaric looked startled.

Claire said goodbye and got to her car. She studied the map for a moment and then took off. Alaric definitely knew, she thought. Not like Jenna, who apparently didn't have any clue at all what was going on.

She followed Jenna's description and found the house in only 5 minutes. Well, she was sort of a fast driver. Claire admired the architecture while getting out of the car. It was bit colder then before, so she quickly got a black cardicool out her suitcase and over her shoulders before stepping up to an enormous wooden front door. She considered knocking, but the door was open, so she just stepped in. She heard music coming from the right, so she decided to follow it. As the music grew louder and she could make out Wolfmother's 'Woman', she stepped into a huge living room. Antiques decorated the room, which had a high ceiling and dark wooden carvings everywhere. In the middle of the room she could see a gorgeous man, looking like a fallen angel while holding a bottle in one hand and an antique gun in the other. He was dancing around, his shirt open. Claire could see some spectacular abs, but his other features caught her attention as well. He had dark, short hair, a sarcastic grin on his face, and wore a magnificent ancient ring on one of his fingers. His eyes were closed, he was sucking the music right in. Claire totally enjoyed the scene. He was exactly the kind of man she was interested in at the moment. Her last lover was a very sweet nerd, very clumsy in life, but damn, he was so good in bed. But now she was more interested in a challenge. With the nerd, she didn't have to put much effort in, it was almost too easy. Now she graved for something more challenging. Like this guy. Everything about him was pure arrogance. That must be the brother. She stepped to a nearby table and pushed an empty glass off its edge to get his attention. When the glass hit the wooden floor and burst into a thousand sharp pieces, he stopped dancing and whirled around to face her. Now she could see his eyes, ice blue and hard. Within the blink of an eye, he had her pushed violently against the wall. She let him because she was interested.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" he asked between gritted teeth.

Claire locked eyes with him for a few moments before answering. "Relax, I'm a friend of Elena's. Jenna told me she'd be here, so I came to see for myself", she answered calmly while pushing her hips harder against his. He smelled like alcohol and danger and that aroused her like hell. She was not gonna let him have all the fun, so she also pressed her chest tighter against his.

His grip didn't soften, but she could tell he wanted her. "Why should I believe you?" he questioned.

"I guess that's up to you. But here's a warning: I wouldn't mess with me if I were you. That is, unless you're into pain", she teasingly said while flashing him a very seductive smile. She was starting to enjoy herself.

A cocky grin now spread across his face, and he brought his face closer to hers. His nose was already touching hers and her whole body was now pressed tightly against his. She could almost feel his abs at her belly. "Try me", he whispered at her lips and started to lean in for a passionate kiss.

Claire only moved her hand a bit and he was catapulted against the opposite wall. His eyes were widened with shock, when she started strolling towards him. She did that in a very slow, very lazy sort of way. Thank god she chose the blue dress and the heels. They looked spectacular with her long legs. She would enjoy this little game. He was stilled pinned against the wall, unable to move, when he found his speech again.

"What the hell? What are you?" he almost shouted.

"No need to be upset, darling. I won't hurt you, I'm just playing around a bit. I'm a witch, and you're a vampire, and we're all in a lot of trouble right now, are we? I know about the situation with Klaus you're in at the moment. I'm here to help. Now, tell me, where's Elena?" she calmly said.

"Let me down and I'll tell you", he snarled at her.

"Okay, but no pressing against walls anymore unless I ask you to", she replied while making another lazy flick of her hand. The vampire landed on the floor with a soft thud. She nestled herself on the huge couch. He slowly walked towards her, obviously a bit afraid.

"I'm Damon. How do you know Elena?" he questioned.

"Nice to meet you, Damon, I'm Claire. Our parents were good friends. Got anything to drink in this house?" she said while letting her gaze rest on his still naked chest.

He followed her gaze and grinned. Then he moved over to a small table filled with bottles and glasses and poured her a brown liquid. He brought it over and after handing it to her, leaned against a table opposite the couch. He was pure decadence and she got more attracted to him every second.

"Elena's not in right now. We had a bit of a situation yesterday with Elijah, so she and Stefan went for a long walk", he explained.

"Great. I keep missing her. With happened to Elijah?" she curiously asked.

"Well, he's sort of dead. He became dangerous", he replied while studying her body.

"What? Are you mental? He was crucial for killing Klaus!" Claire felt anger coming up in her. If she came here only a few days earlier, she could have prevented this. She rose up from the couch and walked towards Damon.

"Easy, girl. We know how to kill an Original. We did not need Elijah anymore. Oh, and just in case you knew them, we also had to kill the two warlocks working with him", he replied while studying her angry face. He admired her green eyes, now glistening with rage.

"You tosser, don't you think I know how to kill an Original? Elijah was important because he could have led us to Klaus. No one knows where he is or what he looks like. Elijah at least knew something. Damn it!" she hit the table next to him with her fist. She instantly felt the pain hitting, but she needed an outlet for her rage. She turned and started to pace the room. The warlocks... well, they had been causing her family a few problems lately, cooperating with vampires, but nevertheless, all witches and warlocks should stick together. It was bad news.

"Hey, we're gonna find him anyway. That is, we suppose he will show up at Mystic Falls one day, and then we're gonna strike!" he explained his master plan.

"Yeah, but he will not come here disguised as a tourist, ask Elena's address at the Mystic Grill and show up at her house all civil and polite. When he comes, he will follow a bloody path of destruction and revenge, and no one will be save in this town. This is why we have to find him first!" Claire undermined the importance of her words with angry hand gestures.

Damon started to crinkle his forehead. Clearly, he hadn't thought of that possibility before. She took a sip from the whisky he brought her. She desperately needed that right now. This was more difficult than she thought it would be. But she would manage. She always did since Björn came after her when she was 12. The memory of that horrible day darkened her eyes a bit, but she got used to not thinking about it, so she quickly distracted herself. She had to relax.

"Okay, there's nothing we can do for now. I'm gonna wait here until Elena comes back. In the meantime, why don't we do something fun?" she suggested to Damon, who was still looking very broody. But when she said 'fun', it was like he woke up, and another one of his evil grins appeared.

"Yeah, sure, that's exactly what I had in mind. Should we head up to my room immediately or do you want to have some more whisky?" he said while strolling arrogantly towards her.

Claire had to smile. He was so full of himself. She let him come close and put his arm around her waist to pull her hard against him while she started stroking his very fine chest.

"I have a better idea", she whispered while leaning in closer to him. "Let's play a game..."

**Thank you so much for adding my story to your favorites! It is so great to see that you like reading it ;) **


	3. Never have I ever

**Thanks again for adding my story to your favorites! And please, please, please write some more reviews! I am so in the dark here, I have no idea what you think of it! I'm open for anything – praise, critique, suggestions – bring it!**

**Oh, and enjoy ;)**

"What kind of game?" Damon whispered just a few inches away from her lips.

"A drinking game, what else?" Claire answered and backed away from him to fetch a bottle of whisky. She shot him a challenging look. "You in?"

His eyes were still fixed on her derriere while he said "You bet". A demonic grin appeared on his face. She grabbed the bottle and walked back to the couch. They both sat down on opposite ends, facing each other. This was going to be a duel, not a friendly game, and both were determined to win.

"I would suggest 'Never have I ever', but the strip version", Claire said extremely calm, while his eyes were slightly widening.

"Oh, I am so in. You're going down, honey!" he teased her. Claire had to smile. He had no idea...

"Alright, I'll start then. Never have I ever had a brother."

"Oh, so we're gonna play dirty, huh? Just wait, it's all gonna come right back at you", he threatened while taking a sip of whisky and taking off his shirt. WOW! Those abs were even more spectacular then before, and Claire admired his strongly defined shoulders and those strong arms. She had to constrain herself from reaching over and touching them. She licked her lips in a nervous way.

He had watched her admire his body and then started to speak again. "My turn. Never have I ever had my hair longer than now." He shot her a challenging look. She took a sip of her drink and slipped out of her shoes.

"Aw, come on, that doesn't count!" he complained. He watched in silence while she took off her cardicool too.

"I was just making myself more comfortable" she defended herself. She decided to make things a bit more interesting, so she leaned back and pulled down her dress a little bit more. The effect was immediate. Damon stared at her cleavage and moved a bit closer to her.

Claire decided to get a bit more risky. She wanted to know more about him, but so far, she could only sense some things. "Never have I ever loved one of my partners." She shot him a proud look.

"Out of principle or was it just bad luck?" he curiously asked while taking off his socks. She let out a disappointed sigh. She had hoped he would get rid of his pants next, but at least she knew that he had loved someone before.

"I like being with people in a physical sort of way. Feelings are so complicated, therefore I try not to feel when I'm with someone. Friendships are different, but only the thought of loving a man so much as to be devastated when he might leave scares me to death", Claire explained.

"Very interesting. And now that dress is coming down. Never have I ever had magical powers" he eagerly said and looked smug.

She was reaching for her zipper when she suddenly stopped. "Wait – you can move super fast. And you can compel people. I think that counts as magical powers too!" she exclaimed. His grin froze for a moment, then he said "Shit, I haven't thought of that. Does that mean that I have to strip now?"

"Certainly. Please proceed", Claire said extra posh to tease him. She nestled herself deeper into the couch and watched him getting up and slowly unzipping his pants. He shot her an angry look, but she would definitely enjoy this. It was like watching a very fine stripper. He wore black briefs that didn't leave much up to her imagination and she admired his body more than before. Slowly, he started strolling towards her. He leaned down and put both hands behind her on top of the couch.

"I go again. Never have I ever wanted to have sex with me."

Claire just smiled and started fumbling around with the zipper at the back of her dress. "Could you give me a hand with that?" she asked him, turning around so he would face her back. She definitely did not need his help, but this was all about teasing, so she wasn't surprised when she felt his hands on her back.

"Every time", he whispered into her ear and sent shivers down her spine. His hands were cool on her back, and he traced it down all the way to her panties. It felt amazing, and Claire was longing for him to touch her everywhere, but she wouldn't make it that easy for him, so she quickly turned around. What she didn't think of was his strength, so before she knew what was going on she found him lying on top of her. His eyes were now half closed and he stripped down her dress. Quite harshly, he pulled it over her breasts and down her hips. When he was finished, he paused for a second to admire her fine body. His right hand now settled above her knee, from where it gently stroke over her panties and the side of her belly up to her shoulders. He continued his way along her shoulders to her neck and up to her cheek, where his hand came to a rest. Claire was on fire. Every touch of him was making her want more, her breathing already went faster and she could feel that he wanted more too. They locked eyes again. The ice-blue and the emerald-green met and melted. She saw so much behind them, more than she ever thought to find in someone like him. There was anger and passion, love and jealousy, and most of all, there was pain. Time was standing still for them.

"What the... Claire? Is that you?" a voice from the door suddenly inquired. Damon and Claire both shot up from the couch, just to see Elena and Stefan standing in the entrance hall, looking puzzled.

Whereas Damon quickly grabbed his pants to put them on, Claire shot towards Elena, still only wearing her underwear.

"Elena! It is so good to see you!" she said while the girls pulled each other into a tight hug.

Damon walked over to stand by Stefan, who was giving him a quizzical look. Damon just shrugged his shoulders and looking at Elena and Claire, he said "I'm trying really hard not to get turned on right now."

Upon hearing what he said, Elena quickly freed herself from the hug and shot Damon a look that could kill. In the meantime, Claire had turned towards Stefan to introduce herself.

"Hey, I'm Claire, a childhood friend of Elena's. I used to spent my summers in Mystic Falls, but it had been a while, so I decided to pay her a surprise visit."

"Well, you definitely surprised me there", Elena said while still looking at Damon.

"Hey, it was her idea! She came here to find you, but as you were not in, we had to pass time somehow!" he defended himself. Elena and Damon both looked at Claire, obviously not believing Damon's words.

"Yeah... That's actually true. We were just playing 'Never have I ever'. But, oh my god, Elena! We have so much catching up to do!" she quickly changed to subject while both Elena and Stefan stared at her in disbelief. Damon looked smug and walked over to the couch table to get his drink. She was watching him pick up his shirt and heading to the stairs. They would have to continue this another time...

"Yeah, why don't you get yourself dressed and we head somewhere to talk? Like the grill?" Elena suggested.

"Oh... I'm sorry!" Claire hurried over to the couch to get her dress. "Sure, we could do that, but first, I have to tell you something."

"Me first. You can not ever, ever again do that with Damon! He's damaged goods, Claire! And he's dangerous. And I don't mean that in a good way. I really, really mean he's dangerous, okay?" Elena grabbed her by the shoulders to make sure Claire absolutely understood what she was saying.

"Don't worry, I know. It's actually what I wanted to talk to you about", Claire looked Elena deep in the eyes and said "I'm sorry that I have not told you before, but actually, I am a witch."


	4. Fill them in

**And, once again: a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who reads my story. I really appreciate it, especially as this is not a Delena fanfic, and I know that most of you (including me) are totally into those two. I just felt that at the moment, Stefan and Elena are so real, so good, that Damon and Elena would be a massive break in the story. But because he deserves someone too, I decided to create Claire. It really hurts seeing him suffer so much... Maybe in the future, when there's some 'trouble in paradise' with Elena and Stefan, I'll take the opportunity to write a Delena fanfic, 'cause these two should really end up together. But for now, Claire's gonna rock Damon's world ;)**

Elena stared at Claire and disbelief "Seriously? You too? Oh my... Why? Since when?" she tried to process what she was just been told.

Stefan, who was in the background until then, stepped towards Elena and took her hand. He also shot Claire a confused look, but waited for Elena to calm down.

"I've known since I was an infant. I am so sorry, but I was not to tell you. For my family, it is very crucial not to be exposed, and I had to promise... But anyways, now I'm here, and I will help. I know what's going on, that's actually why I came", she explained and stroke Elena's upper arm.

Slowly, Elena managed to regain her continence. "Well.. okay. I guess that's good, then. The more, the merrier. How long will you be here? And where will you stay?" she asked Claire.

"For as long as it takes, maybe even longer. I'm a bit fed up with England at the moment. I thought about staying at a motel or somewhere... Is there anything like that in Mystic Falls?"

"That's ridiculous! You can stay at my house, of course. Like old times", Elena said, finally back to her old self. She was extremely happy that Claire was back. Not just because she meant more help, but because she really missed her during the last years. She could even somehow understand why Claire hadn't told her about her being a witch. She smiled at her and was happy to have her near her.

"How do you know about our situation?" Stefan suddenly asked. He was still a bit confused and didn't trust Claire yet.

"Well... My family's been in contact with the founders of Mystic Falls for a very long time. That's actually why our parents knew each other. Sheriff Forbes called immediately when the vampires returned, and from that moment on, we were monitoring the situation. We know of Klaus, because we have many, many sources and our powers, which help us to 'see' things as well. When we heard of the grave danger you're in, my dad wanted to come, but I convinced him that I can handle it at least as well as he can, so here I am" Claire explained.

"Wow..." was the only thing Elena was able to say. That sure was a lot. In that exact moment, her phone rang. It was Bonnie. "Oh, I have to take that, I haven't talked to Bonnie since we killed the Martins. I'll be real quick!" she promised and went towards the door to talk outside.

Stefan was still looking a bit warily at Claire while Damon came down the stairs again. "Well, I'm heading off to the grill. Brother. Hot witch chick" he greeted while grabbing his jacket from a chair.

He almost ran into the Elena, who returned from her call with Bonnie.

"Guys, Bonnie has some news. She's on her way now," Elena announced.

"Spectacular. First, I get interrupted while making out with a damn hot witch, and now my least favourite witch is coming over to talk sense into her. I'll probably never get laid while I'm still in this goddamn town," Damon sighed theatrically while throwing his jacket back on the chair and himself onto the couch.

"I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with you and Claire, Damon. What did she say, Elena?" Stefan interfered.

"Something about Dr. Martin telling her something important the moment he died... But it's weird, didn't you say that he tried to choke her?"

"Yeah... at least, that's what it looked like. Maybe he implemented some thoughts into her brain or something. Is that possible?" Stefan asked aloud.

"So Bonnie's out of the closet now. Finally, I was always wondering when she would discover her powers." Claire talked more to herself than to Stefan, but then she faced him and said "It is. When dying, we can sort of 'spread our power and knowledge'. The spot where a witch has violently died for instance always held a great power. We can as well pass our last thoughts on to the person nearest to us in that moment. That means, if that is a witch or warlock," Claire explained. She walked over to grab her previously filled glass of whisky and took a deep sip. Elena shot her an almost shocked look. "What?" Claire said "I grew up in England. I'm used to that stuff," she defended herself. Damon shot her a longing look while making a noise like he just smelled something tasty. Claire's stomach twisted when she looked at him. Really too bad that they had walked in on them...

They all heard a car pulling up in front of the house at that moment, and Stefan hurried to the door to let Bonnie and Jeremy, who was with her, in. Elena looked confused at the sight of Jeremy. Apparently, she didn't yet know that they were sort of dating.

Bonnie suddenly stopped dead as soon as she was through the door. There was a huge power field in this room. Confused, she looked around. She saw Claire standing next to Elena, a smile spreading across her face. It can't be... she never felt anything when they were children. Bonnie slowly walked towards Claire. All eyes were fixed on them, nobody dared to speak. Claire finally started to speak.

"Hey Bonnie, so good to see you! I'm really happy that you've finally discovered your powers," she said while taking Bonnie's hands. In that moment, everybody in the room could feel something happening. It was like the air was full of electricity. Bonnie's eyes widened in shock. But this feeling she had... the same like that one time, with Katherine's witch, who was actually a relative of hers. But now... it was so much stronger, so much more real... Tears started to build up in her eyes. It was just so beautiful... For the first time in a very long time, she felt like everything was going to be alright. She almost collapsed into Claire's arms, now sobbing with tears. Everybody but Claire looked extremely shocked.

"What the fuck's going on?" Jeremy bursted out. Of course he was confused, he had no idea of Claire's nature so far.

"She's a witch, too," Stefan quickly explained. A very surprised "Oh..." was everything Jeremy managed to say. They all watched the two witches still embracing, Claire now stroking softly over Bonnie's head.

"As much as I like seeing you suffer, you should get to the point, B-witch," Damon suddenly said, completely unaffected by what had just happened. With a loud bang, he was again tossed against the next wall. Elena let out a short scream, while Stefan and Jeremy both backed away from Damon. Bonnie looked like a deer in front of a car, and Claire loosened the embrace and stormed towards the vampire, looking extremely angry.

"That. Is. Not. How. You. Speak. To. A. Witch," she almost snarled. A few inches away from his face, she stopped. "Especially not in my presence. If you ever do that again, I'm gonna hurt you for real, understood?"

Damon was a bit afraid and slightly turned on at the same time. His little hot witch was one who stood up to him. He wasn't so sure if he was into that, but somehow she was now hotter than before. He managed to pull off a cocky smile while he said "Understood. Although I like it when you're angry. You're damn hot right now, you know that?" he teased her.

Claire let out an annoyed sigh and turned her back on him, causing the magic which held him against the wall to wear off, and he landed on the floor, this time prepared, so he landed on his feet. Claire was now looking into 4 extremely surprised and shocked faces. She apparently had some explaining to do, but Damon cut across her once again.

"Yeah, she did that to me before, some sort of anger-management issue, I guess. But it doesn't wanna make me want her less," he whispered into her ear while strolling over to the couch again.

"So sorry, guys. Sometimes, I cannot hold it back. Especially not with him," she explained while giving Damon a deadly look. He only shrugged his shoulders and reached for his glass of whisky.

"Wait... how did you do that?" Bonnie asked, still confused. She had never seen a witch doing magic without a spell.

"Feelings are very powerful, Bonnie. Learn to control them, and you can do magic without even moving," Claire said. "But we can talk about this another time. What's the big news?"

"Um... yeah, sorry. Well, before he died, Dr. Martin gave me back my powers, and he sort of told me how we can kill Klaus," Bonnie quickly said.

Everybody except Damon and Claire excitedly shot towards Bonnie and asked at the same time "How?", "What?", "He did what?"

"Easy, guys! He told me there are three families, and that they know how to destroy an original. But I didn't get their names," Bonnie said. More confusion on the look of their faces. "Claire? You know something about that?"

Claire let out a sigh and walked towards the table with the drinks. Everybody was watching her. They knew she had something to say at this matter. Silence while she poured herself some more brown liquid. She turned around, leaned against the table and started with the story she dreaded telling.

"There were three original families of witches and warlocks. Like the vampire originals, but of course, they were mortal. They were the first and the most powerful of all. Their founders died, but the blood line continued. For centuries, they have grown stronger and stronger. Eventually, other witches and warlocks surfaced. But their powers can not be measured with the Original ones. Already when born, they know what they are and are being trained since infantry. At the age of 9, they say that they are already as powerful as a normal witch at the height of her powers. And they know how to kill an Original vampire only by spell." She paused and took a sip of her drink.

"But who are they? And how can we find them?" Bonnie eagerly asked.

"They are all very aristocratic families. One lives in Italy, the famous family of the Medici. Another one has their roots in France, the Mortemarts," with that, she slightly hesitated. "And the last one is in England. The Duke and Duchess of Southwitherton, the Blackhearts," Claire quickly finished while taking another huge sip of her whisky. She would have to watch her drinking, or she would be wasted before noon. She looked into their faces. Stefan and Damon looked broody, while Elena, Jeremy and Bonnie looked at her in disbelief. Here it goes...

"But your last name is Blackheart, isn't it?" Bonnie finally asked. The vampire's heads now shot up, too.

"What? You're one of the original families?" Stefan questioned.

"Actually, my name is Blackheart-Mortemart. My mother was the daughter of the last Duc de Mortmart, and my father the son of the existing Duke of Southwitherton. I'm sort of a mash-up," she said and felt very uncomfortable. They would now look at her in a different way. It's now exactly as she feared it would be. But of course, at some point, she had to tell them. Claire had just hoped that it would not have been so soon.

"Oh, fuck me sideways..." Damon finally managed to break the silence. "You're a Lady. A freaking living, breathing, hot English Lady. And a very powerful witch, too. I think I need some more whisky," he said completely astonished. "Anyone fancy a glass?" he asked the others. All of them nodded.

**Oh, and wanna hear something funny? I've concentrated so much on this story and VD the last few days, that I got two pimples on my neck that look exactly like vampire bites... Strange thing is, I never get pimples anymore, so this is clearly a very straightforward withdrawal symptom! can't wait until April.. damn you, CW! **


	5. Eat and fight

**Okay, guys, so I seem to be in a real writing mood today. Here's my second update today. Enjoy ;)**

The people inside the boarding house were so busy processing what they just found out that they didn't sense the person lingering outside one of the old living room windows. Katherine turned away from the scene inside, shock written all over her face. How could it be? She had heard of the original families, but she always thought it was some kind of legend to keep the vampires in check. That changed everything. She was not the one with all the power anymore. Damn it! What could she do? But, of course... Katherine always had a back-up plan.

Inside, the mood was slowly getting better. After they all had one or more sips of whisky, they relaxed. When the first shock had settled, they asked Claire all kinds of question, basically the ones she had already answered before, just this time for all of them. She was glad that they took it so well, and told them everything they wanted to know. There was only the incident with Björn that she left out. She would never tell them, if it wasn't necessary.

It was already time for lunch when Claire's stomach brought her back to reality. "Oh, guys, I'm really sorry, but I'm having a bit of a jet-lag and I could really use some food, so why don't we go somewhere to eat?" she said.

"Yeah, sure, I'll come with you. Let's head to the grill," Elena immediately suggested. Stefan nodded and went to get his keys, Bonnie and Jeremy said that they would head home.

"I'm sure you and Elena have some catching up to do. We can talk later," Bonnie said while hugging Claire goodbye. Jeremy flashed her a gorgeous smile and said "It sure is gonna get interesting with you around here." He also quickly hugged her and they left. Elena, Claire and Damon were now the only ones in the room.

Elena looked from Claire to Damon and quickly said "I'm gonna go help Stefan." With that she vanished. Claire turned around to face Damon, who was still lingering on the couch. He eyed her intensively.

"Come over here," he commanded. For once, she decided to obey him. She was sorry for using her magic on him before. She might have overreacted a bit. When she reached the couch, she let herself drop down next to him. Exhausted, she let out a sigh. He put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to his chest. "That was a lot to take in. Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked, a very soft and friendly tone in his voice.

She was surprised at this, but what the hell, she was just so tired, she didn't wanna be conspicuous anymore. "I didn't know what to think of you at first. So I decided to test you out a bit. When I had the feeling you were quite alright, I was more interested in your body than in talking," Claire truthfully answered. He chuckled.

"You sure are very blunt for a Lady," he concluded.

"Stop calling me that. I never use my title, I'm too damn young to be a Lady," Claire sighed.

"Don't forget the 'too sexy and provocative', as well as the missing manners."

"Oh, I do have manners. But sometimes I chose to be normal," she teased him. It felt good leaning on his chest, and some of the exhaustion seemed to fade away already.

"You know, this house has 6 bedrooms. You could also move in here," Damon suggested, a very dangerous glance of wickedness in his eyes.

"Yeah... you wish. We both know that we would only need one bedroom if I do that. But I think I'm gonna stay at Elena's for a while."

"Your choice, honey. But you're always welcome," Damon tried to sound unaffected, but secretly, he had hoped that she would have accepted his offer.

"Why the change of heart?" Claire had to ask now. "You don't even know me that much and you're already being something like... a friend. I was told that you're more the hostile person," she said.

"Who told you that? I am the sweetest, cutest and most supporting person you'll ever meet," he said with a more than sarcastic tone in his voice, now very obviously mocking her. She pulled herself up and looked him in the eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before she bursted into laughter. At first, he looked mad, but then he started tickling her, because she wouldn't stop laughing at him. Claire tried to defend herself, because she was indeed very ticklish. A fight broke out on the couch. Both of them tried to tickle the other on as many body parts as possible. Curled together in something like a huge ball, they fell off the couch and their fight continued on the floor.

"Give up, C! I'm way faster than you," Damon laughed.

"You're going down, vampire!" Claire screamed while lunging herself at his stomach.

Elena stood in the door and couldn't believe her eyes. She left them alone for 5 minutes, and when she came back, they were again all over each other. Only this time, it was more a game than before. At least they were dressed. They were so lost in their fight that they did not notice her. Damon looked so handsome when he smiled. He looked really relaxed with Claire around. "Could it be? No, no way there was someone who could be a match for Damon," Elena thought to herself. Stefan appeared next to her and took in the scene. He shot her a 'is this really happening?'- look and Elena only shrugged her shoulders. Just when Claire had climbed onto Damon and they paused their fight, him clutching her arms and slowly pulling her down to him, Stefan decided to step in.

"Hey, guys, we're ready. You coming?" he innocently asked. Claire started to get off Damon, while his brother shot Stefan a more than angry look.

"Sure. I'm starving!" Claire picked up her cardicool, which was still on the floor next to the couch. Damon was still lying on the ground.

"You guys have fun, I'm gonna stay and pity myself some more," he said staring at the ceiling.

They looked at him without any glimpse of pity and Claire, standing over him, flashed him a gorgeous smile while making an 'up'-hand movement, and on his feet he stood. "You're coming with us," she said.

"Damn your powers. I like my women weak and obeying," he cursed, but his expression clearly said that the opposite was the case. Claire rolled her eyes and turned around, grabbed Elena by the hand and they walked outside. The two brothers followed them and while Stefan and Elena got into his car, Damon violently grabbed Claire around her hips and dragged her towards his car. She didn't necessarily like such caveman-like behaviour, but his pride was hurt, so she played along. "See you there!" she quickly said to an astonished Elena while being shoved into Damon's car.

"Should we help her?" Stefan asked Elena.

"I think she can look after herself," she winked at him. Grinning, they both got into the car and followed Damon's.

Claire settled herself against the door so to have a good look at him. She kicked off her heels, pulled her feet up and laid them on Damon's lap. She yawned and nestled deeper against the door, her eyes still fixed on him. She smiled. Somehow, when he was not making her furious, she felt oddly safe with him. He freed one hand from the steering wheel to stroke her foot. It felt really good.

"Hmmm... I was never much of a foot fetishist, but coming to think of it... ," he grinned at her.

"I know that I have gorgeous feet, thank you so much for your compliment," Claire replied unaffected. They were already in town and he stopped the car in front of the Grill.

"Do you want me to carry you in, Milady, or you think you can manage yourself?" An evil smile appeared on his face. Slowly, she pulled herself up, not without stroking a very interesting part of his lap with her toes. He shuddered slightly at the touch.

"Thank you, James, I think I will walk by myself today," Claire answered, impersonating a very alive elderly English Lady she actually knew, who was very fond of getting carried by her butlers (three of them named James). He pulled up one brow, but seeing the corners of her mouth twitch, he just shook his head and got out of the car. She followed him. Stefan and Elena were just pulling up behind them. Together, they walked in.

The Grill was now more crowded than when Claire was there before, and she could see Matt waiting some tables. She had always liked Elena's ex and walked over to say hello. He was as surprised as everybody else to see her, and gave her a shy hug while excusing himself for having to work. He promised to stop by their table later, when it was less crowded. She smiled at him and said that it was no problem at all. She looked around to see where Elena and the boys sat down and spotted them across the room.

Claire joined them at their table and studied the menu for the second time today. Oh, how she already missed traditional English food, even though it was disgusting for most people. Matt stopped at their table and they all ordered some burgers. Elena absent-mindedly played with Stefan's fingers while they made some small talk. Claire could sense some tension and caught Damon tensing up when Stefan smiled at Elena and gave her a little peck on the lips. She studied him throughout the whole lunch and finally came to the conclusion that everything around here, including their personal relationships, was hopelessly difficult.

They spent almost 3 hours at the Grill, talking to Matt and Alaric, who showed up later and was speechless after hearing the news. They explained everything, and a few more interesting details were discussed. Claire learnt about Isobel, the Salvatore's past and some of the things that happened during the last months. During all of the talking, Damon was the one who was especially communicative, and she felt more and more comfortable around him. They were on the same frequency, and they never really ran out of conversation. He even stroked her arm or her leg at some points, but she always shot him a 'not now, or I'll find it hard to control myself'-look. What she got in return was a smug grin.

But every time Damon's eyes settled upon Elena, Claire could sense the struggle inside him. As much as she wanted to be with him, at least physically, the connection between those two made it extremely difficult for her. It almost made her sad.

After the lunch, Stefan drove Elena home while Damon and Claire headed back to the boarding house to get her car. They drove in silence, Claire leaning against the window, lost in thoughts.

"What's on your wicked mind, C-witch?" Damon asked.

"Aw... just stuff. It's all very complicated here. And I'm really tired," she tried to distract him.

"Yeah... I'm not buying that. You've been so... normal... since we arrived at the Grill. Spill it."

She decided to just tell the what's on her mind. "How long have you been in love with Elena?"

He almost drove off the road, totally caught by surprise, but he quickly regained his temper. "I guess denying it won't work?" he asked.

"Not a chance. I've seen how you look at her. How you move when she moves. You're like two magnets, but there's something in between you. Stefan," Claire said.

Damon let out a deep sigh. He looked at her, seeing the serious look on her face. Either she was worried or angry. "She's too good for me. And I don't want to get something between my brother and me again. But I cannot not feel that way about her. She's so... Elena."

Claire turned away to face the window again. He was spilling out his guts and all she did was get angry at him. But it was Elena... One of her favourite persons in the world. Of course he would fall for her. And from what she could tell, Elena felt for him the same way, although not as strong. Yet. Stefan was great, but she had a feeling that Damon would fit Elena better. There was only one thing she could do. "Look, you are insanely hot and I could really use some action, if you know what I mean, but fact is, I don't mess around with messes like you," she said, trying to sound calm and indifferent. Inside her, a war was going on wether to just go for him or do what was supposed to be right.

He stopped the car in front of the boarding house and faced her. When she wouldn't look him in the eyes, he tried to grab her chin and make her, but it was like there was an invisible wall he couldn't get through, some kind of shield. "What did you do now?" he angrily said.

"That's just what happens when I really don't wanna be touched," she said with a sad tone in her voice. Claire looked at him now. "I mean it, Damon. Feelings are horrible, and I told you that I try not to get involved in them. Such a shame, though... We would have been great in bed." With that, she left a more than surprised Damon and got out of the car. She was already in hers when he finally stormed after her. He was again thrown back be her invisible shield when he tried to open the door. He stared at her in disbelief.

"You're really giving up on this? I know you're not the touchy feely kind of person, but we have chemistry, woman! This could work!" he almost shouted at her.

Claire only shook her head, put the car in gear and drove off. In her rearview mirror, she could see him standing there, watching her drive away. Even from the distance, she could feel his anger building up. This was not good.

**Please R&R! Thank you! **


	6. Road Trip

**Hey guys, thanks so much for reading, subscribing and reviewing! You really always make my day :) As I uploaded two chapters yesterday, I change the last one (5) again today, I guess I was too fast, and so there were a few small changes I had to make. Anyways, I really hope you'll enjoy this one too! And please, please, please leave a review and tell me what you're thinking. I'm always open for critique, praise or suggestions! Thanks a lot :)**

On her way to Elena's house, Claire turned the music up really loud to get distracted. She knew that she had done something silly, but there was no way she was getting it on with a man who was hopelessly in love with someone else. Especially not if there really was a chance for him to get Elena.

_**You fault my pride**_

_**Don't ever need to apologize**_

_**as your lips unfold**_

_**shakin' purple from the cold**_

_**you better learn to crawl,**_

_**you better learn to crawl **_

_**before I walk away**_

Claire let herself go with the music. 'Crawl' was maybe not the most suitable song for the occasion, but it was just so beautifully dark and seductive. Without knowing, she passed Elena's house, but spontaneously decided to keep driving. It calmed her down and for a few more minutes, she wouldn't have to think about her problems. She explored Mystic Falls and its surroundings while loosing herself in Kasabian, Kings of Leon and Muse.

Almost two hours later, she finally stopped in front of Elena's house. She got out of the car and knocked. Elena immediately opened the door and let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank god you're here. What took you so long?" she asked almost angrily.

"I'm really sorry, but I had some things on my mind, so I just drove around a bit. Everything's fine!" she added when Elena shot her a sceptical look.

"You didn't by any chance get into a fight or something with Damon?" she asked.

Claire gasped for air. "How do you... I mean no... that is... What happened?"

Elena let her in and walked to the living room , where a restless Stefan paced up and down. She let herself fall on the couch and said "He left."

Stefan turned around to face Claire, who was standing in the door to the living room, speechless. "Tell me what you did. He just wrote a short note that the women here are driving him crazy and he desperately needed to get away. I don't know when or IF he will come back," he shot her an angry look.

Claire sighed and walked towards them. " I just... I told him that I can't be with him in the way he wanted. That's it," she explained. Elena looked sad, but Stefan eyed her conspicuously.

"You're not telling us everything. Why exactly can you not be with him?" he questioned.

"That's between me and Damon!" Claire replied, slowly getting angry herself. "Look, I'm sorry he left, but I'm sure we can track him down and convince him to come back."

"You have no idea how good he is at hiding himself. It was always him who found me, I on the other hand had no idea where he was all the time," Stefan said with gritted teeth. Claire absolutely didn't like his attitude towards her in this matter. It was not only her fault that he had left.

"Yeah, but this time, you have me. Trust me, I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna bring him back."

Elena and Stefan both eyed her curiously. "How was she gonna do that?" they were probably asking themselves. But Claire didn't feel like explaining. She had done that enough today already. She asked Elena if she could show her where she would be sleeping and the two girls left for the guest room, Stefan still shooting distrustful glances at Claire.

"I'm sorry he's so aggressive. He's not normally like that," Elena excused his bad behaviour when they reached the room Claire would be staying in. It was slightly smaller than Elena's, but very nicely decorated with a beautiful big window that went out the back garden.

Claire throw down her suitcase and bag on the bed and looked at Elena. "It's okay. I guess, it's partly my fault. God, am I exhausted!" she said while letting herself fall on the bed.

"It sure has been a long day for you. Wanna take a nap?" Elena suggested.

"No... I have to go fix this," Claire answered, pulling herself up from the bed and opening her suitcase. "Do you have some kind of map of the area?" she asked her friend.

"Yeah, sure... Let me just get it," Elena answered while she left the room to fetch the map. Claire rummaged around in her suitcase and said "Stefan, I need you for a sec. Would you come up here, please?" In an instant, he was in the room. She looked at him. His mood was obviously slightly better now. Elena returned with the map. She put it on the bed and Claire asked Stefan to step over.

"I'll need a few drops of your blood, please," she said. He immediately bit his wrist and let a few drops fall on the map. Claire was now almost inaudibly whispering incantations. The drops began to move and eventually stopped about 200 miles north of Mystic Falls. Claire handed Stefan a small glass vial. "I'll need a few drops of your blood with me. I'm sure he will not stay there," she said. Hesitantly, he bit his wrist again and let a few drops fall into the vial. "Alright. That should do it. I'll be heading off now, take care you two!" Claire said while taking a big bag to put a few things in to take with her.

"Wait!" Elena said. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" Stefan asked, obviously surprised. Claire just looked at Elena, an astonished look on her face.

"I should," Elena said. "It's Damon, Stefan. It will take a lot of persuading to make him come back. And he always listens to me."

Stefan let out a deep sigh. "You're probably right. Although I wish you wouldn't go," he pulled her to his chest and gave her a kiss on the head. Claire's heart stopped a beat. They looked so intimate, so happy. She could hardly look at them.

"Um... Guys, I should change before we go. Do you mind waiting downstairs?" Claire quickly said. They excused themselves and left immediately. She packed a few useful things and change into black leather leggings and a grey tank top. She also changed a few accessories, freed her hair from the ponytail and let it fall softly around her shoulders. Before she left, she grabbed her favourite black leather jacket from the bottom of her suitcase and off she went.

Downstairs, Elena was already waiting for her, also carrying a huge bag. Claire stepped out the front door and walked to her car. Elena and Stefan silently followed.

Stefan caught up with Claire and took her bag to put it in the trunk. She shot him a surprised look. "I'm sorry I was so rude before. It is not entirely your fault. Please forgive me," he said, a pleading look on his face.

She smiled at him a bit wearily. She was really tired and exhausted now. "It's okay, you didn't mean it, you were just upset," Claire said. He smiled back and quickly padded her arm to say goodbye. She got in the car to be spared the sight of the two lovers saying goodbye. After a few minutes, Elena got in and they drove off.

"So what are we gonna do to convince him to come back? Once we find him..." Elena started off after a few minutes.

"Well, we have you. And he would do anything for you. Just make a puppy face and he can't say no," Claire answered a bit too sarcastic, trying to sound unaffected.

"What's it with you two anyways? From what it looked like, you really seemed to get along. What happened?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, Elena. It's actually no big deal. Let's just say I took a closer look at him and found him... Not suitable," Claire said with a bitter note to her voice. Elena eyed her sceptically.

"Oh, no... Don't tell me you've fallen in love with him?"

"Hell, no! Seriously, Elena? Love?" Claire asked absolutely surprised. She liked Damon, but she was more interested in his body, not the 'feelings'-part.

Elena smiled at her and thought to herself that something like that must have been the reason they got into a fight. Claire was just not admitting it to herself. At first, she was scared by thinking that these two would actually fit each other, but slowly, the idea of them together did not seem so off anymore... A little sting in her heart reminded her of something important, though. Something she really had to deal with. It was why she came with her friend. Before Claire could properly fall in love with Damon, Elena had to fall out of love with him first...


	7. Show me

**Thanks for reading my story and for all the fantastic reviews! I love you guys :) **

Their trip was very relaxed, both of them had a lot to talk, and when Claire got really tired again, Elena took over the wheel and let her friend take a quick nap. After a two-hour drive, they were just pausing at a small gas station to get some food and water, when Stefan called.

"Damon called. From what I can tell, he's really drunk, so he's probably still where Claire located him before. Try some college bars maybe. Anything with booze," he suggested.

"Thanks, Stefan, we'll do our best. What did he say?" Elena asked.

"He was just going on about how the whole world never choses him, etc. He also threatened to never return, but I think he just wants us to come after him and beg him to come back."

"Which is exactly what we're doing...," Elena said, a bit annoyed. Damon sort of always gets what he wants. Not the women, but at least the attention. "Alright, I'll call you when we get there. Love you!"

Claire shot her an almost disgusted look. Love. Urgh. She finished the Red Bull she had desperately needed and they got into her car again. After two more hours, they finally reached Deville, the city they had located Damon in. There was a college in Deville, which meant lots of desperate, drunk college girls in bars. She knew exactly why Damon would come here. They drove into the city centre and Claire parked in front of a closed grocery store.

"What now?" Elena asked a bit impatient. Claire got out of the car. Elena did the same.

"Well... There's some guys over there. Let's go ask them where the nearest bar is," she said and headed off in the direction of a few college guys.

"Wait, how do you know that he will be here? I'm sure there's bars all over in this town!" Elena tried to stop her.

"Because I can sense him. He's not far away," Claire answered smoothly and once again, Elena was surprised. She really always underestimated her.

They approached the group of guys, who immediately stopped talking and stared at the two girls. "Well, look at that! Ladies! Care to join us for a drink?" one of them asked.

Claire shot him a gorgeous smile, whereas Elena was looking a bit uncomfortable. "That's so sweet of you, but we're meeting our boyfriends in a bar near here. Unfortunately, we can't seem to find it, they just told us that it's around the...um, big tower somewhere," she quickly made up.

"Aw, come on girls, why settle with two when you can have five?" the one from before said, gesturing at all of them.

"Yeah... no, thank you. They just got out of prison, so they're really sex-deprived and probably quite impatient. So, do you know the bar?" Claire innocently replied. Their jaws dropped.

"Um... You take the second left down this street and then the first to the right, then you should be there," another one now said. They all looked very uncomfortable all over sudden and after Claire chimed a gleeful "Thank you so much!", they started walking in the other direction. Elena chuckled.

They followed the directions and after a few minutes, they stood in front of a big and dark bar called 'Blackfriar's'. Claire stopped dead after entering.

"What's the matter?" Elena asked, quite alarmed about Claire's behaviour.

"He's definitely here. I can feel him. You take the left, I'll take the right. We'll meet again here," she instructed and was gone before Elena could ask any further questions.

The bar consisted of two floors. Above ground, it was a huge room with tables and booths and a huge bar in the middle. In the cellar, there were some smaller tables with seating cushions and couches on the side, a huge stage in the front, and everything in between was a dance floor. Claire made her way through the tables, always alert and looking everywhere, but she could not see Damon. After about ten minutes, she met Elena in front of the entrance again.

"Any luck?" she asked, but Elena only shook her head. "That means he's probably downstairs. Let's have a look!" she said and grabbed her friend by the hand to not lose her. They got hit on a few times on their way, but their serious faces always scared the guys off. In the cellar, the music was way louder and the room darker than above. A karaoke night was going on, two girls were just performing a dreadful version of 'I kissed a girl'. Claire and Elena looked at them a bit and both had to laugh when the song ended and they kissed for real. The audience cheered them on. It had a dark and seductive atmosphere down there, and they saw some couples making out on the cushions or in darker corners. Slowly, they made their way up to the stage, when a group of three girls caught their attention. They were also seated on a few of the cushions, giggling and grinding all over a man seated in between them. A blonde girl with a very short skirt was sitting on his lap, almost riding him while his hands were on her ass and her back. Elena and Claire caught sight of a very familiar ring. Elena's face changed to anger, she almost growled and stormed towards the group. Claire decided to let her have a try first. She was interested in how he would react, seeing Elena here. Also, her friend's obvious jealousy astonished her a bit.

Elena reached the group, grabbed the blond mini-prostitute by her shoulders and shoved her off Damon. He had his eyes closed, a devilish grin on his face and a few drops of blood in the corners of his mouth. His victim had a quite distinct mark on her neck, Claire could now see. When he felt the blonde leave her place in his lap, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure it was really Elena who stood in front of him. She pulled up one of her brows and shot him an angry look.

"If this isn't my favourite brother's girlfriend. Have you left him and come to finally be with me?" he provoked her, his speech a bit slurry from all the alcohol he had in him already. Elena slowly bent down towards him, and before he could react, she had slapped him. His head flew to the side, the three girls let out a short scream and hurried off. He was really hot, but no way they would deal with an angry girlfriend.

"Why do you always have to go back to your old self? Seriously, Damon? College chicks in mini skirts? You can do so much better. Now, let's go home!" Elena said and tried to take his hand to pull him up. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down closer to him, the drunk guy now gone and a stone cold look now on his face.

"Ouch! Damon! You're hurting me! Elena complained. The look on his face scared her a bit. She knew that look, and it never meant any good.

"Not as much as you're hurting me all the time. There's days when you're like 'I'm your friend, Damon, I'm here for you!' and on the next you're like 'I don't trust myself around you, leave me alone!' But tell me, how many times have I saved you? How many times was I there for you when Stefan wasn't? I am the one who always tells you the truth, who never tries to protect you by hiding something from you! And yet, you chose him! I'm not going after you any more, Elena! Leave me alone, I'm not coming back!" he almost shouted and let go of her hand.

Elena stood there, frozen. His words had gotten to her. Deep down, she knew that he was right in so many ways. But she could never be with him and feel safe. The fact that she knew how he treated women, that he had engaged in sex with her mother and Caroline and had gotten rid of them when he was bored... All that and so much more where the reasons why she only wanted him as a friend, she saw that now. A single tear ran down her cheek. She had been sort of in love with him, but that was before today. Before she saw how easily he could change back into old patterns. When they drove here, she kind of hoped that they would find him in a lonely hotel room, the only company he had a bottle of Jack Daniel's. But no such luck. He was hurt, and therefore, he hurt her. Just like it was when he broke Jeremy's neck. Elena knew that they had no future. She turned around to leave when Claire caught her arm.

"What happened?" she asked, a concerned look on her face.

"We're over. He's the same he always was. I have to get out of here!" Elena answered.

Claire nodded and said "Wait for me outside, I'll deal with him." She let go of her friend, who stormed up the stairs immediately. She turned around to face Damon. He shot her a deadly look, lifted himself from the cushion and was only inches away from her in an instant.

"What are you doing here? I thought we were done!" he snarled at her.

Claire locked eyes with him, but instead of the brilliant blue she saw a few times today, they were almost black now. She had to swallow. So this was evil Damon. She was unable to say anything, she found him so incredibly sexy and scary at the same time. Either she could apologize and risk him storming away, or she had to be a bit more risky and surprise him. He was still awaiting her reply, when she softly licked her lips and stepped closer. Their bodies touched again and she felt a shiver rushing through her. She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered "I was wrong. Come back, Damon."

She stepped back to see his reaction, but he still looked at her with that stone cold expression on his face. "Show me", he said with gritted teeth.

Claire was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Show me why you were wrong. Why I should come back. And 'I will sleep with you' is not sufficient", Damon answered, his expression still the same.

She let go of him and stepped back. This was not what she had expected. How on earth was she gonna convince him it was a good idea to come back? She knew nothing she could say would be enough, and she also did not know what to say. The truth was that she was terribly afraid of what would happen if he came back. There was something about him... something between them... she could not explain it, she never had to deal with it before, but there was much more than sexual tension that made her so attracted to him. He was still staring at her with those intense eyes. She had to do something! Almost hysterical, she searched the bar for an answer, feeling like a bunny about to be eaten by a fox. Suddenly, she had an idea.

Claire shot Damon a short glance and walked over to the stage. A teenager sat in front of a mixing desk, obviously the one in charge. His eyes widened when he saw the beautiful black-haired girl approach him. She did not greet him, she only bent down to whisper in his ear. He nodded and gave her a microphone and waved to a guy from the band. He approached Claire and they quickly talked. He was instantly a sucker for her looks, and it was more than easy for her to get what she wanted.

She shot Damon a last look before she got on stage. He was still standing in the same place, arms crossed, a stoic expression on his face. Nothing of the usual sarcastic features could be found in it. Claire swallowed. Would it be enough? She really hoped so.

The band started with the first riffs. She took a deep breath and stepped on stage. Everybody was looking at her. With her leather jacket, the long legs packed tight in black leather pants and the 'fuck me' heels, she was the centre of attention. Slowly, she walked into the middle, looked at the strange faces in the audience only to find his face. When she found it, she took a last deep breath and started singing...

**What song will Claire perform? Any ideas? Suggestions? Bring it!**


	8. Use Somebody

_**AN:**_** Okay, so here's a few things I have to say: First of all, thank you! For everything ;)**

**And I also thought a bit about what I've written so far and noticed that it was all a bit fast perhaps. So, just think of it all happening over a few days, not only in one. I think maybe I'll re-write it soon, but right now, I have some stuff going on. **

**Anyway, I suggest that while reading this chapter, you should really listen to Kings of Leon's epic ballad 'Use Somebody', as it plays a very important role. I hope you like it!**

Her hands were shaking, but Claire shut out all the unpleasant thoughts roaming through her head the moment she stepped in front of the crowd. She tried to forget that she was fighting for Damon, even though she did not yet knew if it was worth it. Damon's relationship with Elena was also in her hands, in some way. If she could convince him to come back, they could work on their issues and maybe finally define their feelings for each other. And she also shut out the hysterical voice in her head screaming 'Are you mental?' at her all the way through. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth...

_**I've been roaming around, always looking down and all I see**_

_**painted face fill the places I can't reach**_

Claire had put everything in those first words, and the crowd stared at her, mesmerized. Her deep, smoky voice filled the basement and everybody turned their heads to look at the source of it. Some thought she was just a good performer, others definitely knew that there was something at stake for the dark stranger who put so much emotion into this song.

_**You know that I could use somebody**_

_**You know that I could use somebody**_

Her eyes searched for Damon once again, and she found him slowly stepping closer to the stage. Some of the bitterness in his face was gone, but he still looked determined to not be won over.

_**Someone like you and all you know and how you speak**_

_**Countless lovers undercover of the street**_

_**you know that I could use somebody**_

_**you know that I could use somebody**_

_**Someone like you**_

Claire stepped away from the microphone and let herself go with the music. She was more confident now, that song just suit her and it was perfect for the occasion.

_**Off in the night while you live it up, I'm off to sleep**_

_**waging wars to shake the poet and the beat**_

_**I hope it's gonna make you notice**_

_**I hope it's gonna make you notice**_

_**Someone like me**_

_**Someone like me**_

_**Someone like me, somebody**_

_**Go and let it out**_

_**Someone like you, use somebody**_

_**Someone like you, somebody**_

_**Someone like you, use somebody**_

_**I've been roaming around, always looking down and all I see...**_

Claire had closed her eyes again while singing the last line, and was greeted by deafening cheers from the crowd when she opened them again. She gave them a shy smile while her gaze was all the time resting on Damon. He stood about 10 feet away from the stage, an earnest look on his face, but Claire could tell that she had gotten to him.

She got off the stage and while a few guys tried to talk to her, she ignored them and made her way up to him. Inches away from his chest, she stopped. For once, she did not know what to say. Claire looked in his eyes and swallowed while waiting for him to do something. She had put it all out there. Never before had she shown someone that she cared. Ever. He just looked at her. It felt like an eternity...

In the meantime, Elena had gotten out of the bar and was on the phone with Stefan when she heard a very familiar voice coming from one of the basement's windows she was standing next to outside.

"Stefan, I think Claire's singing," she said, already a bit calmed down from her fight with Damon.

"She's doing what?" an astonished Stefan asked on the other side of the line.

"She's singing. It's definitely her voice. I have to go see that. Please come quickly!" she urged him and hung up to storm down into the basement. When she got there, she indeed saw her friend on the stage, performing a breathtaking version of Kings of Leon's 'Use Somebody'. Everybody was staring at her, and she was indeed something to look at. Her outfit matched the occasion perfectly, and when she moved to the music, her chest was in the exact right movement to make the guys pay attention. The silver heart pendant was hidden between her breasts.

Elena almost forgot her trouble with Damon and just listened to Claire. She was pouring it all out, that she could tell. Probably some of Damon's stupid ideas. But somehow, Elena thought that this one backfired, as Claire was so owning that performance. When she finished the song, Elena cheered extra loud and worked her way through to where Claire had disappeared into the crowd. She did not need to get very far to find her standing in front of Damon, a pleading look on her face. Elena could only see Damon's back, but she sincerely hoped that he would do the right thing, whatever that was. She still hadn't figured out what they were actually arguing over. He bent down to Claire and whispered something in her ear. She swallowed and nodded. He stepped closer and put an arm around her hip. Too fast for Elena to see, Damon had moved so that Claire was now in front of him, a slightly scared look on her face. He bent down towards her neck...

"NO!" Elena shouted and shot towards the couple, when a few guys blocked her way. When they got into sight again, she stopped dead. They were kissing! Claire had locked her legs around his hip and her fingers in his hair, while Damon's hands seemed to be all over her. It looked extremely passionate and intimate. Elena could feel a slight sting in her heart, but she swallowed and it was gone. She knew that Stefan would come to get her, so she took out her phone to send Claire a text and turned around to leave the bar. These two would get along fine... that much was sure.

Claire felt like this was not real. Her whole body was on fire. She could feel his hands on her back, her ass, her belly, her hair. This was definitely the best kiss she ever had. And it had not even stopped yet.

When she was standing in front of Damon, waiting for him to react, she had felt absolutely vulnerable. She had to fight hard to remain calm, but inside, it felt like all her organs were shifting around, turning inside out. And he took so long. After what felt like an eternity, he finally stepped closer and whispered:

"I could use somebody too."

She couldn't help it, she just nodded. It was not a confession, it was a statement, and she had agreed to let them have a try. And secretly, she knew what he would do now. And she would let him. He was behind her in an instant, bending her neck to taste her blood. After that, she won't be able to overpower him anymore. They would be bonded for life. Claire closed her eyes. He was worth it. She knew it.

But before she could feel the pain she was expecting, he was suddenly in front of her again, and the cold look on his face had finally disappeared. He looked almost soft. Why had he stopped? Claire was confused, but before she could question his motifs, his lips were suddenly on hers. She felt a wave of lust and pleasure make its way through her body, and before she knew it, they were engaged in a passionate embrace, exploring the other's mouth and body. They didn't care that there were people watching them, that both knew that Elena was only standing a few feet away; they just lost themselves in each other at that moment.

Damon did not want to let her go. Ever. She tasted so good. And they fitted. Every movement he made, she moved exactly the right way too. If he put his hands on her buttocks, she pressed her breasts tighter to his chests. If he stroked along the side of her belly, she would loosen herself that much as to let him feel her breasts. She had a sex instinct. And he had, too. Besides, even though he did not really like to admit it to himself, he felt extremely good with her. She had done something quite courageous to convince to give her another try, and he was absolutely overwhelmed when he watched her perform. He knew that he had to have her. And the strange thing was that he didn't even want to use her anymore. That was his plan when he first set eyes on her, but this was just too good to be a mere conquest. She pissed him off big time when she rejected him, and he swore to let her suffer for that, but he just couldn't hurt her. Not mentally, that was. He broke the kiss for a moment to whisper "We need some privacy. Let's get out of here."

Her eyes were half-closed and the colour of liquid green with some golden sparkles in them. She was breathing heavily and only nodded when she suddenly remembered Elena.

"Fuck! Elena! She was just here. I have to go find her," Claire started to free herself from their passionate embrace. She checked her phone and saw the text Elena sent. Relieved, she let out a deep breath.

"Stefan's on his way to pick her up. She wishes us a great night," she said with a curious sideways glance towards Damon. Even though they just had a really, really good kiss, she still suspected that he and Elena were not fully over.

He only shrugged his shoulders. "It would never have worked out between her and me anyways." He looked sad for a brief second before his smug smile re-appeared and, pulling her close to him again, he said "There's nothing in our way now. So let's go!"

While he eyed her intensively, the same smile appeared on her face and she snuggled up to his body and purred like a kitten "Show me what you got, vampire."

He did not need any more encouragement.


	9. An EARLy surprise

**Thank you so, so much for your reviews and favourites and story alerts! I am so happy that you like my story and keep on reading it. I'm so, so sorry that this update took rather long, but I had the stiffest neck ever from playing volleyball and I had to do some self-pitying for a while before I was ready to sit in front of my laptop again. **

**Additionally, this was a really hard chapter to write (because there is only one authentic way to write about sex, but I'm not screen-playing porn here). And with everything that's going on in my head (and in yours too, I guess) when I picture sex with Damon Salvatore... yeah... you know what I mean. Anyways, I hope you like it! **

* * *

They passed through the city in a flash. Claire was wondering where Damon would take her, to his car, a hotel, a dark street corner? She had to giggle when she thought about the street corner. Even though she was not that desperate, she would agree to do it. Claire just had to have this man, no matter where. His kiss had lit a fire insider her. A fire she had known of before, but it had not burnt that bright until now.

Damon stopped in front of a pompous-looking hotel. He let her down, but took her hand immediately. When they entered the lobby, the concierge greeted Damon and they hurried towards the elevator. Even before the doors closed, they were again all over each other. He pressed her tightly against the wall, his hand reaching under her top and he stroked and teased until she could hardly bear it any longer. Luckily, the elevator came to a halt and they were in his room in an instant.

It was obviously one of the suites, as it was quite big, but Claire could not take a closer look as she was thrown on the bed even before the door had closed. Her vampire lover was on her in a second, continuing where he had started in the elevator. This was the real deal. No games, no teasing. Between his hot kisses, she got rid of her clothes one by one, until she only wore her black lace bra and panties. He was still fully dressed, and that was something Claire would not tolerate. Just when he had pulled her up so that she was sitting on his lap, arms in his hair and pants, and tried to unbutton her bra, she stopped their kiss and pulled back. With a luscious look in her eyes, she purred "I think it's time you inspire me some more before I take my last pieces of clothing off."

He let out a dark chuckle and got off the bed. Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt. Claire straightened up so to not miss anything of his show. When he had gotten rid of his shirt, his hands found his zipper and he pulled down his pants. Claire had to swallow. Damon Salvatore wearing only his briefs was a sight she could get used to. He came to her again. Slowly, he lowered his body on hers, always keeping eye contact. His expression was not playful anymore, it was focused and almost determined. He brought his mouth to her chest and started planted kisses everywhere. It felt so good. She arched her back as to let him open her bra and so he did and everything went completely ballistic from that moment on. Their passion was back, they were kissing and biting and rubbing everywhere they could reach, getting rid of their last pieces of clothing and losing themselves in each other.

And every time they locked eyes, Claire could but hardly grasp the meaning behind the look he was giving her. He was struggling, and so was she. They were meant for each other. They realised it the first time they kissed, but it was so hard to give in to their feelings. Both were lonely wolves, the troubled individuals, not the shiny happy relationship-people. But every time they would have such a moment where normal people would talk, one of them started kissing the other again and for a while, the only thing they could concentrate on was passionate, raw sex.

* * *

"You okay? You seem so... depressed," Stefan asked a more than silent Elena while they drove back to Mystic Falls. He had picked her up on the outskirts of town, where she had waited for him in an old-fashioned diner. He could have sworn that there were traces of tears on her cheeks, but he was afraid of what she would tell him when he asked why she had cried.

"Yeah. It was just a tough night... Damon was so... the Damon he used to be when he first came into my life. It reminded me of his partially evil nature. And now one of my best friends is with him, probably getting herself killed right now... ," Elena answered helplessly.

"Aw, come on, we both now that he is not that malicious anymore. Besides, I figure that Claire can defend herself when really necessary. He did not really bite her, you said?"

"No, I don't think so. He faked it, I guess. But why?" Elena wondered.

"Well, if a vampire drinks a witches' blood, she cannot harm him anymore. That was probably what Claire was willing to give him to make him come back," Stefan explained.

"Seriously? But how can she... I mean... oh my god! That's so... intimate," Elena finished her sentence with a rather surprising word. Stefan eyed her conspicuously.

"Was she jealous? Or why would Elena think that letting a vampire drink from you was intimate? It was straightforward stupid. But on the other hand... she had let him drink her blood, too. But that did not turn out so well," Stefan silently thought to himself. That was definitely a weird night.

Elena cuddled up to his shoulder. "I'm tired, and I don't wanna think about it anymore. Distract me, Stefan."

He smiled. She was still his, even after all that drama. For a while, he thought that Damon would win her over, but luckily for him, Claire showed up. Now both of them had the possibility of becoming happy. He started to tell Elena anecdotes from his life as a vampire until she fell asleep. Stefan softly stroked her hair and let out a deep, satisfied sigh. One problem less.

* * *

The next morning, Claire woke up in an empty bed. She let out a few curses before she heard someone on the bathroom, turning on the shower. She grinned and looked around the suite. It was quite beautiful, clean chic as far as her eye could see. Lazily, she let out a hearty moan and stretched around a bit. Then she threw off the sheets and walked into the bathroom. Her lover was standing in a glass shower cabin, his naked body covered in foam. She did not need to think twice, and when she joined him, a wild kiss greeted her. And even though she let plenty of water run over her body, she still felt quite dirty when their shower was over.

He ordered room service for her while she was still in the bathroom, and when after she had a few strawberries, they decided do drive back to Mystic Falls. Before they got fully dressed, he pulled her into an embrace, softly stroked her hair and caressed her cheek. Claire smiled happily. She enjoyed every single moment with him. He made her happy.

"You are the most amazing thing I've ever met," he complimented her. "And we both know that it's gonna get difficult once we're back. So, I'm saying this in advance: I'm sorry. A hundred times sorry for the things I will do to you and the pain I will cause you. And don't say that's not gonna happen, cause we both know it will. But I care about you, and I want you to know that I can't help it."

Claire stared at him, completely surprised. He had talked about their relationship. And it was so... honest and sweet. He was holding her face in both of his hands now, a pleading look on his face. She softly nodded and held back some tears. This man would crush her someday. But it was too late to stop. It had been too late from the moment she had first looked into those eyes. She cuddled into his chest and inhaled his scent. She knew that coming to Mystic Falls would change her life, but she never suspected that she would find the man of her dreams here. Especially not a vampire.

"Time to go," he said and brought her back to reality. They gathered their things and he drove her to where she had parked her car the night before. "See you in four hours," he said leaning out his window.

"Four? I thought you were faster than that," she teased him while getting in her car. He shot her a confident look, let his tires screech and sped off. Claire just shook her head, turned on the radio and started driving. She needed time to think and that drive served that purpose perfectly.

* * *

In the meantime, Elena was just having breakfast at her house, when the doorbell rang. Annoyed, she got up to see who it was. She opened the door and saw a man in his thirties standing on the front porch. He was tall and very handsome, with very defined cheek bones and black hair. His eyes were somewhere between green and silver, and he was wearing a very fine grey suit.

"Oh, hello. You must be Ms. Gilbert. I'm looking for the Lady Blackheart. Is she available?" he asked in a very posh English accent.

Elena was surprised. This man was very strange, and he knew that Claire was here. Could she trust him? Somehow, all her alarm bells were ringing.

"Uhm... She's not in right now. But maybe I can leave her a message? Mr.?" she asked.

The stranger extended his hand to shake hers. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? My name is James William Hadlow the Third, Earl of Tressex. Very pleased to make your acquaintance."

Elena took his hand in total shock. She was not sure wether to just shake it or make a bow or whatever it was you normally do when meeting an Earl. He seemed so... majestic.

"I'm afraid I insist on talking to her in person. Do you know when she will be back?" he asked.

"Well... anytime soon, I guess. Do you want to... come in and wait perhaps?" Elena offered to him before she could restrain herself. Somehow, she felt the need to please this person, but she was not so sure why.

"Oh, how awfully nice of you, Ms. Gilbert! I gladly accept your offer," he smiled and entered the house.

Elena led him into the kitchen and offered him some coffee. Of course, he wanted tea instead. Elena sighed... How the hell has she gotten herself into this mess? She heard the door open and an instant later, Damon walked into the kitchen, whistling a happy melody. He stopped dead when he saw the Earl.

"Who are you?" he questioned him immediately.

The Earl eyed him a bit hostile, but before he could answer, Elena stepped in. Her heart had skipped a beat when she saw Damon walking into the kitchen, all happy and satisfied. She was still mad at him for what he did the night before, but Stefan had convinced her to let it go. But of course, she had not told him everything that had happened between them.

"Damon, this is the Earl of Tressex, he's here to see Claire," she quickly explained.

He shot them an irritating look. "What do you want from her?" he asked very hostile. This man looked strange and untrustworthy. And he wanted Claire, which was definitely not a good sign.

"No need to be upset, Mr. Damon, I just have some urgent matters to discuss with her," the Earl replied calmly while taking a sip of his tea.

"Ever heard of a phone?" Damon teased him.

"Indeed, but there are some matters you should discuss face to face. Is she with you?"

"What matters?" Damon growled. He hated this man. Everything about him was dubious.

"This is between me and the Lady Blackheart. Now, is she here or not?" the Earl replied, now very obviously annoyed.

"No need to be harsh, James. I'm right here," a voice from the back door answered. They all turned around to see Claire standing in the door frame, a look of misery on her face.

"There you are, darling. I've come to clarify the details of the big event. You cannot just fly to another country and expect me to not come with you," the Earl playfully said while walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek. "I've missed you."

"I certainly did not miss you. Why can't you just leave me alone for a while?" Claire angrily asked.

"Because I want to be with my future wife, no matter where she goes," he softly replied.

Damon and Elena gasped for air. "Wife?" Damon almost screamed while Elena searched for halt on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, did she not tell you? We are engaged to be married this June. It's gonna be a hell of a wedding, won't it, darling?" James explained, quite pleased to piss that stupid Damon character off so easily.

All eyes were on Claire, who looked somewhere between sad and angry. "We. Are. Not. Getting. Married" she growled.

His eyes narrowed, and the Earl softly tilted his head until he looked her directly in the eyes. His expression became stone cold and he hissed, almost inaudible. "Either you marry me, or your father goes down, understand? Your choice."

Claire swallowed. This was a nightmare. A pure, horrible nightmare. She turned around and fled the house while tears ran down her cheek. What now?


	10. Meeting Katherine

**Okay, there was some sort of problem with the system, I uploaded the last chapter, but I still cannot click on it in the list, so I hope, this will work. Enjoy!**

* * *

Elena, Damon and the Earl were still standing in the kitchen, all of them staring at the door Claire just disappeared through.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Miss Gilbert. Mr. Damon," James said and left the house as quickly as Claire.

Damon was the one who found his speech first. "I need… booze. Elena?"

"In the living-room cabinet. For me too, please."

Damon fetched two glasses and a bottle of Whisky. After pouring them both some, he sat down on the kitchen counter, took a deep sip and then sighed.

"I should've known something was wrong with her. She was too good to be true," he said depressed.

"There's nothing wrong with her! Did you not hear what he said? He's blackmailing Claire! We have to do something!" Elena paced up and down; the Earl's behaviour had made her truly angry.

"I know. He's such a creep. I'll go find her and talk to her," Damon said while he took the last sip of his liquor. Elena hadn't mentioned their big fight from yesterday so far, and he did not know if he should. Somehow, he was sorry for how rude he had been to her, but it needed to be settled once and for all.

He turned to the door, but stopped after a few steps and hesitantly turned around. "Elena, listen. About yesterday… I'm sorry I was so rude to you. I was upset."

Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded uncomfortably. "It's okay, I get it. You were right, though. I'm not another Katherine. But you'll always be very important to me, Damon. No matter what you do," Elena softly said. She had thought about this whole situation a lot during the night and finally came to the conclusion that she could not ban him from of her life, but that it was also impossible for her to love him too much. He would break her, whether he intended on it or not. Claire was a better choice for him. Hopefully, it would work out.

Damon eyed her intensively. He had not expected this confession. Slowly, he stepped closer and when she did not withdraw, he pulled her into a hug. She smelled sweet and innocent. He gave her a shy kiss on her forehead, like he did the one time he confessed his love to her. But this time, he was not sad. He had found himself a woman that could measure up to him. Now he just had to go and get her out of all that trouble she was in.

* * *

Claire felt the fresh and still a bit cold April air as she was pacing through the woods. She had left the town behind her, running blind into the forest. Every time she was upset like this, she had to flee. And the nature was a perfect retreat for her. A little twig scratched her cheek as she run too close past a tree, and she felt a small burn and then the blood running down her cheek, but she did not care. Why, oh why on earth did he have to show up? It had been such a great day. She had intended on saying a quick hello to Elena before disappearing into Damon's bedroom for the rest of it. And now, she had stumbled from one major drama into the next. How she hated the Earl.

She stopped in the middle of a clearing, gasping for air. Only then she looked down on herself and noticed that she was bare-footed. She had kicked her heels off in Elena's backyard. Claire turned to face the sky and let herself fall on the grass. While staring at the clouds, she tried to get a clear head, but there were too many things she had on her mind.

There was Damon, her vampire-lover, the only man ever she felt something more for except pure lust. The sex had been mind-blowing. She had lost herself too many times to count that past night, as the scratches and little bruises on her body could tell. He was so… perfect. Not perfect in a way that he was the perfect man, he was just… perfect for her. For the first time ever, she thought that this was definitely worth a shot. And she had always dreaded relationships so far. But then James showed up… he was hot, that much was sure, but as soon as he opened his mouth, all that was worthless, because he was such an asshole. Claire forced herself to breathe. It would all work out some way. She did not yet know how, but it would. It always did.

Just then, as she was lying on the ground and calmed down for the first time since she had left the house, she felt someone near her. Because she had been so upset, her alarm clocks didn't go off until now, and she was quickly on her feet, ready to face whatever was near. Claire heard a soft chuckle and saw Elena step out from under the shadow of a tree on the edge of the clearing. Only… this was not Elena. Claire quickly understood. That must be Katherine. She loosened up a bit. A vampire she could always handle.

"Well, well, look who's already having a panic attack. And you haven't even been here that long. Wonder how you think you can manage it all? Things only get more difficult around here, you know?" Katherine started their conversation while slowly strolling towards the witch. She tried to play calm, but she knew that this little girl could finish her off in a second.

"I'm not having a panic attack, I'm just upset. Katherine," Claire snarled.

"Oh, so I take it you have heard of me? I'm so honoured. The Blackheart daughter has heard of a mere vampire like me… Unbelievable," Katherine tried to flatter Claire.

"Stop the crap and come to the point. What do you want?" Claire cut across her. She was not in the mood for mind games, and just wanted to be alone.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm really glad you showed up here. Things were already getting a bit dull. There is one thing, though: Keep your hands off Damon and Stefan. They're mine, alright?" Katherine's expression had changed from friendly to serious, and Claire could see a dangerous glow in her stone cold eyes. She was annoyed with her.

Claire only flashed a malicious grin and before Katherine knew what happened to her, she found herself soaring through the air and crushing against the trunk of a tree. She let out a cry of pain as a twig pierced her belly. The evil witch was walking towards her.

"Nobody commands me like that. Besides, if they are yours, you should take better care of them, as Stefan is clearly with Elena and Damon spent the whole last night in my bed. I don't think you're in the position the claim either of them, bitch. Now get lost! You're getting on my nerves!" Claire snapped at Katherine, who had freed herself from the tree, a look of shock on her face. She hesitated slightly, but the crazy look in Claire's eyes finally made her flee this scene. That went terrible wrong. She would have to try the other way.

Damon had watched the whole scene from the other side of the clearing. It had not taken him long to track Claire down, now faster than before, as he was prone to her delicious scent. He watched her walk into the middle where she spread across the meadow again.

"I know you're here, Damon," she said. He chuckled and was with her in a flash. She looked tired and exhausted, but unspeakably beautiful lying on the grass like that, with her hair spread across her face and her soft skin providing a terrific contrast to the jeans and black tank top she was wearing today. He lied down on top of her and started kissing her neck. She closed her eyes and let out a soft moan. He toyed with her heart necklace and caressed her skin wherever he could reach. After a while, he pulled her into his arms and softly stroked her cheek.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," he said with a serious tone in his voice.

"I know. But can we just lie here and not talk for a few more minutes? I'm tired of all the explaining I had to do these last few days," she answered.

Damon just nodded and pulled her closer to him. He enjoyed having sex with her, but this – just cuddling – was also quite great. Other than the night before, she was so soft and delicate right now. It felt good that she wanted him with her.

Claire enjoyed these few minutes of peace, before she straightened up and faced Damon. "Okay, here it goes. But it's a long and complicated story, and it sure as hell is not my fault, alright?" she warned him.

Damon looked at her in earnest. She sure was something. He nodded to encourage her to continue.

"Well, first of all you need to know that English aristocrats are not what they used to be. Centuries ago, we were rich like hell, but due to poor financing and politics, a lot of the royal families lost most of their wealth. Additionally, it is very expensive to take care of all the land these families own. So, my grandfather was facing some of these problems, but instead of trying to deal with it in an adult way, he started gambling. He thought that this was the way out of all this misery, that he would make a fortune. Unluckily for us, he didn't. He contracted lots of debts, which left him owing money to other aristocratic families who were his creditors. He died quite early, as he was a mean drinker, and my father inherited all his debts. Somehow, he managed to make some profit with the stock market and various other sources, so he paid back almost all of the debts my grandfather had contracted. All but one. The father of James, the old Earl of Tressex was always a bit of a madman, who wanted to enlarge his wealth more than anything else. When my father came to him to pay him back, he refused the money and said that he would have me instead. See, if I would marry James, all my heritage would go to the Earl, and he would be at least twice as powerful as now," Claire explained uncomfortably. Damon had listened very accurately, and an expression of disbelief was on his face.

"But, he cannot just force you to do this? I mean is that even legal?" he cried.

"That's exactly the thing. He can. In our almost antique collection of rights, there is one paragraph that says that debts between aristocratic families can be dissolved through marriage," Claire finished, a very sad look on her face.

Damon was speechless. How could this be? It was so… ancient!

Claire saw the look in his eyes and felt the need to defend her father. "It breaks my fathers' heart, though. But he has no other choice. He would have to file a lawsuit against the Earl to be able to pay with money, but James' father has very powerful friends, and it would never go through. And if I don't we will loose all our belongings."

"I've never before heard such bullshit! How stupid can someone be? You are definitely not going to marry that ass! I'm gonna kill all of them!" Damon was in his feet now, shaking with rage. He wanted to sprint off, but Claire had once again used her powers to restrain him.

"You will not kill them, alright? It won't solve any of these problems. We have thought about that before, but it would not work, he has a powerful will. I have another plan," Claire calmly said.

Damon raised one of his eyebrows. "What plan?"

"Well, first I thought as soon as he sees what kind of woman I am, James would never marry me. Unfortunately, he did not care so much about that. He even suggested that we stay married just on paper and both live in separate houses and sleep with whoever we want."

"He did not!" Damon let out in surprise.

"You bet he did. He's really mean, that one. And very manipulative. But as I've said, I have a plan. The only reason I can think of that would make him not want me anymore is if he would fall for someone else. And I mean fall really bad, cause it won't work if it would be just a fling, he would risk having an affair. He needs someone that he would want to marry, so that I'm not needed anymore," Claire eagerly explained.

Damon lowered himself into the grass again, thinking over her plan. "That would work. But don't you think he would want someone with a title? He seems like that sort of person," he interposed.

"Possibly. But I think if it would be the right woman, he wouldn't give a damn. And, luckily for us, I think I have found exactly the right one for him," Claire said with a triumphant smile.

Damon's face changed from brooding to astonished to amused in seconds. "Don't say you're thinking what I'm thinking…"

Claire grinned like a Cheshire cat and climbed on his lap "Exactly. Katherine."


	11. Games and drinks and a cake

**Hey guys, sorry that it took me so long to update, this is a rather uneventful chapter, but you I hope you'll enjoy it nevertheless! Thanks for sticking with me!**

* * *

While Claire, Katherine and Damon had their little encounter in the woods, Elena drove over to Stefan's house to fill him in on the recent events.

"Hello? Stefan?" she called after entering the boarding house.

"In here!" Stefan shouted from the kitchen. Elena followed his voice just to see him and Caroline leaning over what looked like an explosion of flour and eggs.

"What's that?" Elena laughed and looked at their earnest faces, both full of various ingredients.

"We are baking. Claire had a tough start, and we thought a little pie might cheer her up," Stefan stated the obvious.

"Well, it looks like you're not that successful so far. Let me help," Elena suggested and pushed Stefan away so to take his place.

"I am so, so happy that Claire's back! Gosh, I've missed her... she was always so... British. But in a good way. She's like a girl from a Guy Ritchie-movie. No, let me get that right: She's like one of the guys in these movies, but just... a girl," Caroline gabbled away.

"Yeah, you got that right, Car. She kind of freaks me out a bit. I have this strange feeling that there's something she's not telling us," Stefan interfered while cleaning his hands.

"Uhm... about that," Elena hesitantly began. "A really strange thing happened before. There was a man at my house, all business and stuck up. He wanted to see Claire, so I let him in. She arrived a few minutes later. Turns out he's a British Earl and engaged to her."

"WHAT?" Caroline almost dropped the bowl with the eggs. Stefan looked petrified.

"No way!" he exclaimed. "How's that possible? I mean, she and Damon... what the.. HELL, NO!"

"Calm down you two. I don't know what's going on exactly, but it seems like he's blackmailing her. She fled almost instantly. Damon went after her. I'm pretty sure there's an explanation," Elena tried to defend her friend.

"Crap... as if we don't have enough problems of our own. I hope she has a good explanation for that. Not that I care, but Damon... I think he's really into her," Stefan said angrily.

Elena went over to him and stroked his arm. "He'll be alright. We will be alright. It's all gonna be just fine."

Stefan eyed her curiously. "You really think that or are you just trying to stay calm and not panic? Do I have to worry? Are you gonna do something stupid?" he asked.

Elena grinned and said "Let's dance to Joy Division and celebrate the irony. Everything is going wrong, but we're so happy."

"Okay, that's enough. No more sugar for you, sugar!" Stefan said, grabbed her and hurried off to his room.

Caroline could still hear Elena's laughter, even after the door closed behind them.

"Great," she said to herself. "Now I'm stuck with this lame excuse for a pie. How on earth am I going to get this right?"

* * *

Damon and Claire returned from the woods in the early evening and were greeted by almost the entire crew who were waiting for them in the living room of the boarding house.

Claire let out a deep sigh when she saw Elena, Stefan, Bonnie and Jeremy looking at her with a huge question mark on their faces. Luckily for her, Caroline returned from the kitchen in that moment, a cake in her hand. When she saw Claire, she let out a high-pitched cry and flung herself into the arms of the witch.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I'm so happy you're here! It's been so long!" she squealed when she hugged Claire.

"Thanks, Car, it's also so good to see you… How are you? Apart from… being a vampire?"

"Oh, at first I was sooo upset, but it's quite okay now. But that doesn't mean that I'll ever forgive Katherine for what she did to me," the blonde vampire answered.

"You're neither the first nor the last one who will hold a grudge against me, Caroline. Save your breath," they suddenly heard Katherine's voice from the entrance door.

Claire could feel everybody tense up the moment she entered. Damn, this woman has sure messed up some things. However, she could not mess up to her. She turned to face Elena's look-alike with a smile.

"How's your belly? Still hurts?" she teased.

Katherine's smug grin vanished a bit, but she managed to play cool. "Thanks for asking, all's healed." Then, while passing Claire, she crinkled her nose and said "Oh… I know that smell. So you and Damon had a nice time? We have that in common. But of course, everything he knows, he learnt from me," she purred while stroking his breast while passing.

Before Claire could react, Damon was with her and, holding her arms, said "Please don't. She's not worth it. Just calm down."

Claire took a deep breath and relaxed. "You're right. She's just jealous." She smiled at Damon, who stroked her softly over the cheek.

"Very touching. Excuse me while I go barf. All this love makes me sick," Katherine interrupted and vanished upstairs.

"One of these days, I swear I'm gonna kill her. Not because she's evil, but because she's annoying," Stefan suddenly said. They all had to smile.

After Katherine's disappearance, Claire explained the situation with the Earl to everybody. Their reactions were quite the same as Damon's. They were shocked, angry and, in Caroline's case, slightly amused.

"But that is so romantic… It's like one of these old stories, where the heroine desperately tries to break off the engagement, until she realizes that the Earl is actually the perfect man for her," she said with dreamy eyes.

"Yeah… except we're not living in Austen-England and he's not," Claire answered boldly.

"Luckily for us, Claire already has a plan," Damon answered.

"Well then, shoot!" Elena said when Claire did not say anything immediately.

"Not here. Katherine's still in the house. Another time. I'd rather have a normal evening for a change. You think we can forget about all that and just enjoy ourselves?" Claire proposed.

They all agreed and spent the evening talking and playing a few board games until it was time to go to bed. Jeremy and Bonnie put on their jackets and looked at Elena and Claire.

"You coming with us or are you driving yourself?" Jeremy asked his sister.

"I don't think I should, I had a few drinks," Elena giggled.

Stefan grabbed her and kissed her playfully. "A few? You're practically drunk as a fiddler's bitch," he laughed.

Elena's eyes widened and she tried to punch him. "I am not drunk as anyone's bitch! PAH! Now, I will definitely sleep at home. Jeremy, I'm coming with you! Claire?" she turned around to ask her friend.

"I think I'll stay here. But I promise to be back tomorrow morning, so that Jenna doesn't think too bad of me," she winked.

"Alright, see you tomorrow!" Elena waved while the three of them left the house.

* * *

Damon and Claire quickly retreated to his bedroom and continued what they liked to do best.

"Thanks for staying with us this evening. I know it's not your favourite way to pass time," Claire thanked him while he gently undressed her.

"Mhmm… too much talking," she only got as an answer while he kissed her belly.

"I'm serious, Damon. Thank you," Claire said and pulled his head in her hands to look him in the eyes. His expression changed from playful to earnest.

"I think I would do a lot of things for you, Lady Claire. Just don't hold it against me," he said, a smug grin reappearing on his face.

A huge smile spread over Claire's face. He could be so sweet. Her own gorgeous vampire lover. She tried to say some more things she wanted to discuss, but he found her mouth with his lips. After that, she had other things on her mind than talking.


	12. The morning after

**WOAH! Guys, I'm so excited... today's the day we've all been waiting for... VD returns! Finally :D**

* * *

Claire kept her promise and returned to Elena's house early the next morning, before Jenna woke up. Carefully, she used the key Elena had given her the night before and tiptoed upstairs into her room. Quietly, she closed the door just to turn around and find Katherine lolling on her bed.

"For fuck's sake! What are you doing here, psycho-bitch?" she had to hold herself back so not to scream at Elena's look-alike.

"I thought we could have a little chat, and even though I'm used to it by now, I don't like it that much when someone calls me a bitch," she got as an answer.

"I'll you call whatever the hell I want. Besides, let's face it, Katherine: you are a bitch."

"True. But so are you, Claire," the vampire answered.

Claire hesitated slightly, but then let a small grin spread across her face. Maybe they would get along nevertheless. But she had to be cautious with her. Katherine was not known for always speaking the truth. She went over to her dresser and let her jacket fall on a chair. God, was she tired. Spending the night with Damon was wonderful, but she was already looking forward to sleeping alone again. She really needed some sleep, something she didn't get much with him. Every time they were somehow finished with whatever it was they were doing, they either started over again, or got caught in a heated discussion about a random topic. Outside the bedroom, they were still a bit like fire and ice, but Claire wouldn't have preferred it any other way. Things never got boring, and that was something she dreaded.

She took off her shoes and tried to push Katherine from her bed to have place in it herself. Of course, the vampire didn't move a bit.

"Will you slide over so that I have a little space or do I have to use my powers and pin you against the wall again?" she asked the vampire, brows raised.

Katherine let out a small sigh, but moved over nevertheless. "Oh, how I love bonding time. Could you have imagined that when we first met? Us being BFFs?" she asked Claire in a false girly tone.

"Yeah, sure, Katherine. Let's make a pillow fight, eat marshmallows and braid each other's hair!" Claire answered without any sign of enthusiasm. "Let's get to the point: what do you want?"

"You know, we are very much alike, you and me. We are both beautiful, strong-willed and very powerful. And we have the same taste in men," Katherine tried to lull Claire in.

"Ugh," was everything she got as an answer.

"I'm serious. You'll see it when we spend a bit more time together."

"Over my dead body," Claire mumbled. She was about to doze off, when she felt the bed move. She opened her eyes and saw Katherine's face only inches away from hers.

"I always get what I want, understand? And right now, I want you to work with me. We're gonna kill Klaus and Elena, and then you're gonna disappear, so that I have Damon as a little toy when I get tired with Stefan," she hissed while staring at Claire, who had a blank expression on her face.

Katherine smiled triumphantly and wanted to get off of Claire, when the witch burst out in laughter.

"Seriously, Katherine? You think that you can compel me? Are you for real? I mean... how stupid was that?" Claire said while wiping a tear off her cheek. She had laughed so hard that she even had to cry.

Katherine was on her feet now, standing in front of the bed, her hands in fists, shaking with rage. She didn't like it when someone made fun of her. She thought that if she managed to get to Claire, if the witch let her guard down, she would be able to compel her. It had worked on witches before, but apparently, not this time.

Claire had calmed down and turned to look at the vampire, a stone cold look now on her face. "Now tell me... did I get that right? You want to kill Elena?" she growled.

Katherine saw the dangerous look in Claire's eyes and started to panic. Unluckily for her, she got even more bitchy than usual when doing so. "I would do anything to get Stefan back, and no one will stand in my way!", she said fiercely.

Anger started to build up in Claire. She loved Elena like her own sister, and she knew right from the beginning that Katherine would mean trouble. Should she kill her? Once and for all, so that they were finally free of her? But she needed her for her plan for James... A demonic grin appeared on her face. There it was. The perfect opportunity: Blackmailing.

"You know, I could just kill you right now. You damn well gave me a reason to do it," she started.

"Then do it. I'm not afraid of dying," Katherine answered, trying to play cool, but her eyes gave her away. She looked like a trapped bunny.

"Yeah, right. Like I believe you. Just cool down, I have better plans for you. Here's what you gonna do for me...," Claire started and explained to Katherine how exactly she was gonna get rid of James for her.

* * *

When Elena walked into the guest room about 2 hours later, she saw her friend lying on the bed, fully dressed, sleeping like a baby. While she rubbed her eyes and leaned against the door frame, Stefan appeared behind her.

"Looks like she didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he commented.

"Ugh. I don't even wanna think about it. Let's go have some coffee, please. My head's killing me," she answered.

Stefan chuckled slightly and kissed her shoulders. "Nobody forced you to drink that much Vodka-Bull. You did that all by yourself."

"I know. But Claire drank exactly as much as I did. Strangely, she didn't seem drunk at all!" Elena complained while they went downstairs.

"Well, looks like she knows how to hold her liquor. And she's from England. I spent some time there, some of them are really good drinkers," he said while they entered the kitchen. Stefan went to the coffee machine, while Elena let herself fall on one of the chairs on the kitchen counter.

"You lived in England once? You never mentioned that before," she mumbled.

"Yeah, I was around at the turn of the century."

"In 2000? And did they party hard?" Elena asked.

"No, Elena, I mean 1900," Stefan interfered.

"Wow. I always forget how old you actually are. Me dating an older guy... who would have guessed?" she teased him now. Stefan walked over to the crouched figure on the chair, handed her an aspirin and kissed her intensely.

"Yuck! Get a room, you two," Jeremy grumbled while entering the kitchen. He looked suspiciously sleepy and cranky.

"Good morning to you too, brother. What's up? Did you have a bad dream?" Elena teased.

"Not really. But Bonnie's a bit obsessed with becoming as strong as Claire. She's been practicing the non-verbal spells since they were first mentioned. This meaning – no time for me at all!" he complained.

"Oh, you poor thing! I'm sure she'll get over it. Want some coffee?" Elena tried to cheer him up.

Jeremy just nodded and took a sip of the coffee his sister handed to him. In that moment, they heard a loud bang upstairs, followed by some curses.

"Jenna's up," Elena stated the obvious. Only moments later, her aunt stumbled into the kitchen.

"Mornin'," she mumbled while getting herself some of the black liquid that meant life to her in the mornings.

"You look like hell, Jenna. What did you do last night?" Elena asked.

"Ric and I watched a movie and drank some red wine," she got as an answer.

"That's it? You sort of look more like you... well... got pretty drunk."

"I forgot to mention it was very good red wine. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna be sick," Jenna excused herself while fleeing the kitchen.

"Anyone who wasn't drunk last night in this house?" Jeremy asked grumpily.

"You're just jealous, cause we don't let you drink in front of us," Elena said. Her brother only shot her a mean look and went to his room.

"Not the best morning I had, but there were worse," Elena stated while leaning against Stefan. They continued their breakfast until it was nearly 11 am.

"Let's go wake Claire up. I have the strange feeling something happened this morning," Stefan then said while reading the weather forecast.

"What do you mean? She seemed fine to me!" Elena said, alerted by Stefan's concern.

"Yeah, she's definitely fine, but I think she had a little chat with Katherine. I smelled her in Claire's room before."

"Uh-uh. Why didn't you say something before? Let's go!" Elena said and they went upstairs.

* * *

**Sorry that it was somehow uneventful again, but I'm just so psyched about the new episode today, i can't think of anything else. BUT: I have a lot of things planned, so stay tuned, it's gonna get real dramatic ;)**


	13. Wind

**Oh my effing god! How awesome was the last episode? I mean... Alaric aka Klaus? I practically started drooling... I want more! More! More!**

**I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, I actually found I quite a pain in the ass to write, but then I watched some Tyler Shields photographs and videos, and now I am more than inspired! (you should totally check him out, btw, he's brilliant)**

* * *

When Elena and Stefan arrived at Claire's door, they could hear her talking inside.

"Is Damon with her?" Elena asked.

"Not that I know of," Stefan answered while carefully opening the door. "Claire? Can we come in?"

They entered and Elena let out a short scream when she saw her friend standing in the huge window that led to the back garden. It reached almost from the floor to the ceiling, and Claire had the angles wide open, her face stretched towards the sky and her arms in a majestic position. Her hair flew across her head, she was bare-footed and she wore a black, long dress. She looked like a goddess.

"The wind stood up and gave a shout.  
He whistled on his fingers and  
Kicked the withered leaves about  
And thumped the branches with his hand  
And said that he'd kill and kill,  
And so he will and so he will."

They both watched in amazement as Claire spoke those words like a prayer and everything in the room that was not heavy flew about as the wind rushed through. She raised her hands higher and higher, until they were over her head, and Elena and Stefan could feel there was a lot of power in the room. In the blink of an eye, it was all over though, and Claire turned around to get down the window sill. She noticed them and smiled.

"Good morning. Everything okay?" she asked concerned when she saw the confused look on their faces.

"What was that?" Elena asked, still amazed.

"Oh, I was just gathering my powers. I saw that it is quite windy outside, so I took the chance," Claire answered.

"Yeah, there was a storm warning in the newspaper," Stefan remembered.

"Indeed? Very good," Claire said excitedly.

"But why is this good? I don't understand," Elena interfered.

"I take it you know that witches can perform spells better when relying on the elements, like fire in candles?" Claire asked. They both nodded. "Well, it is also the case that every witch works best with another element. Like cars and fuel, okay? So, my element is the wind. I am the most powerful when it's windy outside. That's why I live in Brighton," she explained and winked.

"And what was it you said back there? A prayer?" Stefan asked.

"No, that was actually a poem by James Stephens. Some of us use prayers, others poems, my mother even sings pop-songs to connect with her element. But she's got it easy. Hers is fire," Claire said cheerfully.

"Interesting. Everything else okay?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine. My night was a bit short, that's why I slept so long. Oh, and guess what? Katherine tried to compel me," Claire chuckled while rummaging through her suitcase.

"She did what?" Elena and Stefan both asked in shock.

"She was here when I got in this morning. First, she tried to lull me into a false sense of security, then she honestly thought she could overpower me. Ah... so much fun."

"What did she want you to do?" Stefan asked.

"Let's just say it was bad enough that I get to blackmail her now. Which was actually part of my plan. I haven't told you this, but I forced Katherine to get it on with James, so that he will lose interest in me," the witch filled them in on her plan.

"I see... You think this will work?" Stefan asked a bit sceptical.

"It will, if she compels him. I could bite myself for not thinking of it before," Claire shook her head.

"Why not put a spell on him? Why do you need a vampire?" Stefan interfered.

"One of the stupid rules of witchcraft. You cannot mess with love. Luckily for me, vampires don't have that sort of barrier."

"That makes sense. So he will not be a problem anymore?"

"If Katherine wants to live, then no, he will not," Claire winked at them while leaving for the kitchen.

* * *

In the meantime, Damon had lingered outside Mystic Fall's only B&B to have a closer look at that asshole of an Earl. He had observed him having breakfast and reading the newspaper before he got dressed and left the building. Damon wanted to shadow him for the rest of the day, so he followed in some distance. James started walking towards the direction of Elena's house. The vampire was so focused on the Earl that he did not notice the woman who approached him from behind. A quick movement, and Katherine had thrown him into a white picket fence. Furiously, he wanted to go after her, when he saw that she was already talking to James. He stopped and listened in on their conversation.

"Miss Gilbert! What a nice surprise, I was just on my way to you. I take it that the Lady has returned?" the Earl asked Katherine, who smiled seductively and touched his arm.

"Oh, I am not Elena, your highness. I am the better version. I think you would want to get to know me," she said with a very familiar tone in her voice. Damon smiled. Claire's plan worked.

The Earl went a bit limp, a blank expression in his eyes and he said: "Yes, I do think I want to get to know you. Would you like to take a stroll with me?"

"What an excellent idea!" Katherine purred and took his arm to lead him towards the woods. He was quite good-looking, and maybe she would even enjoy seducing him. The only thing that bugged her was the fact that she was forced to do it. But she could have been off way worse.

Damon watched them with a satisfied smirk on his lips. One problem less. He turned around, got into his car and drove over to Elena's house. His brother and the two girls were just leaving when he got out of the car.

"Hello, there! So, what are we going to do today?" he greeted them.

Claire flashed him one of her sexy smiles while answering: "Elena and I are going shopping."

"Hmmm... Need a bodyguard?" Damon said huskily while grabbing Claire's waist to pull her closer. She instantly pressed her body against his and kissed him softly.

"Not this time. It's a girl thing. Caroline's coming, too," Elena stated. They let go of each other.

"Such a shame. Looks like it's gonna be brother-bonding time, Stef," Damon suggested with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Yeah, right. More like studying time. We have some research to do on Klaus," Stefan answered.

Damon just rolled his eyes and watched while the two girls were getting into Claire's car.

"Anything in particular we should research? And where do we start at first?" he asked his brother.

"Claire suggested that we get the Grimoirs from Dr. Martin. Hopefully, there's something about him in one of them," Stefan answered while walking to Damon's car.

"Excellent. I can hardly wait," Damon stated sarcastically and they drove off.

Caroline was just getting dressed as she heard the doorbell. That must be Elena. Her best friend had called her a few minutes before to invite her to go shopping with Claire. Absent-mindedly, she went downstairs to answer the door. She was still thinking about her situation with Matt. Because he reacted that angry on her telling him the truth, she compelled him to forget everything the day Claire arrived. It hurt, though. She thought that they could maybe live that way, like Elena and Stefan. But Matt made it clear that he could not. She looked at the door and stopped dead. Through the window she could see someone she did not expect at all. Hesitantly, she opened the door and smiled shyly at the man standing there.

"Hello, Tyler."

* * *

**Thank you all so much for sticking with me! And special thanks to Naishu, David Fishwick and Christina: probably my biggest fans ;) **

**(and yes, Christina, I do know you read my story, even though you never review – I have 'the eye')**


	14. Shopping Trip

Hey guys, soooo sorry that it took me so long to update... but I hope you'll enjoy nevertheless. Oh, and btw: if you like my story, I would love to have you follow me on twitter: /sternambauch

* * *

"Hey, Caroline. Listen... I'm sorry I disappeared. I just... I had to get away from it all for a while," Tyler started off quite hesitantly. Caroline just stared at him, petrified.

"I made a stupid mistake, I know. I hope you'll forgive me. I really missed you, Car," he continued and locked eyes with her.

Caroline eyed him a bit suspiciously, but despite everything that happened between them, she had missed him, too. She had missed him a lot. Before Tyler knew what was happening, she had flung herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"You're a jerk, Tyler. But I've missed you, too. Please stay this time," she said while burying her face in his muscular chest. He had to smile. It felt good being back.

Claire and Elena were just pulling up in front of Caroline's house when they saw her captured in a passionate embrace with a man on her front porch.

"Who's that?" Claire asked her friend.

Elena's jaw had dropped. She could hardly believe what she saw. "That's Tyler."

"What? I thought he left with this were-bitch who attacked Damon?" Claire asked a bit shocked. She knew the whole werewolf story, they had filled her in on everything. She always felt that there was something odd about Tyler, but never really gave it a second thought. Of course, now it all made sense.

"Well, looks like he's back. Let's go, I'm sure they have some catching up to do," Elena suggested.

"But is she safe with him? I mean, he watched while they tortured her, what tells you he's changed?"

Elena sighed slightly. "He also helped us get rid of the big one afterwards. And I know for a fact that he would never hurt Caroline. Just look at him."

Claire watched the couple again. They had loosened their embrace and Tyler was softly stroking Caroline's cheek while she smiled at him happily.

"Alright. If you say so. Let's go get Bonnie," Claire finally gave in, seeing the two being so intimate.

"Actually, she doesn't wanna come. Something about school," Elena said, sounding a bit annoyed.

Claire shot her a curious glance while she set the car in gear. "Everything okay between you two?"

"Yeah, sure. It's just... well, I'm having a bit of a hard time accepting the fact that she's dating my little baby brother," Elena confessed.

Claire laughed "Well, one: he's not such a baby anymore, if it weren't for Bonnie, I'd probably hit on him as well," Claire stated. Elena shot her an offensive look.

"And two: wouldn't you rather he'd be with someone you trust and love than with some bitch who'll break his heart into a thousand pieces?"

Elena quickly thought of Vicky and Anna. They had really broken his heart, and Claire was right, he deserved to be with someone who was good for him. "You're right. I guess I just have to get used to them giggling and kissing and... you know," she quickly ended her sentence.

Claire just smiled and patted her friend's knee. "You'll get over it. Now, let's move on to a more urgent topic: dresses."

Elena had to giggle. It was good having someone around who was able to distract her so well. She was so looking forward to their little shopping trip. For a few hours, her biggest problems would be which colour to chose, and not how she could avoid being killed by an ancient vampire. She leaned back and took a deep breath. Immediately, she felt more relaxed.

"Well, I was thinking..."

* * *

Damon threw yet another Grimoire aside and sighed theatrically. "I need a brake. All this searching is making me extremely bad-tempered. Fancy a glass of A positive, brother?" he teased Stefan.

"No, thanks," Stefan replied quite annoyed.

"Right, the bunny diet. I always forget. Don't you sometimes feel like a change would be nice? Hey, we could buy some alligators and hold them in our back yard! Huh, what do you say?"

"Very funny, Damon. If you mind, I'd like to focus now," was the only thing he got in return. The older Salvatore brother only rolled his eyes and strolled off towards the basement, where he kept the blood. In the hallway, he encountered Katherine.

"Look who's back! How was your little date? And what did you do to piss off Claire?"

Katherine eyed him suspiciously before answering "How do you know that I pissed her off?"

"Well, I just guessed that she must have something on you, or else you wouldn't be playing her games. So, tell me – is he a good kisser?" Damon teased her. It was actually one of his favourite activities since Claire had arrived.

"He is a true gentleman, which is nice for a change. You know, looking at you and stuff. And everything else – not your fucking business!" she tensely replied. She really liked the Earl in some way, but of course, he was only human.

Katherine shot Damon an annoyed look and walked upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Damon alone once more.

"Today sucks. I seriously need some action," he muttered to himself while grabbing his car keys. He would pay a visit to the good old Mystic Grill.

* * *

"Are you crazy? I'm not going in there!"

"Aw, come on, Elena! You don't even have to buy anything. Just come with me, please! It's gonna be fun!" Claire tried to encourage her embarrassed friend.

"I don't know, Claire. It's not my scene," Elena hesitated.

"Well, today, it is," her friend replied and took her hand to drag her into the sex shop.

Elena felt a bit better once they were inside, but she was still not that comfortable in a sex shop. Claire didn't seem to have those problems. She was already looking through a rack of sexy lingerie. Hesitant, Elena started to explore the shop. She had just passed a very delicate selection of DVDs, when her eyes fell on a big desk showing off some DVDs, sex toys and – Elena couldn't believe her eyes – toy fangs! When she stepped closer, she discovered that apparently, she had found the vampire fetish collection. She burst into laughter almost immediately. Claire was with her in a sec.

"What's so funny?" she asked, but when she saw the desk, she joined in the laughter. The shop assistant was eyeing the two girls a bit worried, but they managed to pull themselves together. Wiping a tear of joy of her face, Claire grabbed Elena and dragged her towards the lingerie.

"That was hilarious! But now, I need your opinion. What would you say? Black or dark red?" she asked while taking two very sexy lingerie sets and holding them in front of her body. And, just like that, Elena was uncomfortable again.

"Um... I don't really wear such things, so I can't really say what would look better, but maybe... um, black?" she suggested. Elena didn't want to think about what Claire would do with the underwear, or who was going to see her in it. It was all still a bit weird. Luckily for her, her friend did not notice her being uncomfortable.

"I thought so too. I'll try it on real quick," she said while vanishing in one of the changing rooms. Elena waited in front of it, impatiently moving from one foot to the other. "Elena!" she turned around to see her friend's head sticking out from the curtain. "take a look, please?" she asked. Elena moved the curtain away carefully and had to catch her breath at the sight of her friend. She blushed immediately.

"Wow... you look... awesome!" she managed to say.

"Cheers! I'll take it, it feels real great on my skin," Claire mused while playfully turning around in the changing room. She did not seem uncomfortable at all. Of course, the girls had seen each other in underwear before, but this lingerie showed more than it hid, so Elena quickly hurried away from the curtain.

"I'm gonna get myself some ice cream. Meet you at the parking lot?" she asked Claire.

"Sure, I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Elena took a deep breath. She tried to convince herself that she was not jealous of her friend, but she had to admit that she was indeed a bit angry at her. Everything seemed so much easier for Claire. She managed to tame Damon to some degree, had a kick-ass body, supernatural powers, and besides, no one tried to kill her. Damn it, life was unfair.

* * *

"Damon! Didn't expect to see you here. Everything okay?" Alaric inquired while padding Damon's shoulder. He had just entered the Mystic Grill to get some dinner when he saw a familiar figure at the counter.

"If it isn't Ric van Helsing. Yeah, no biggie. I was just bored. Claire and Elena decided to go on a shopping trip without me, so I figured getting drunk at the local watering hole is a good distraction."

"I thought you guys were searching through some Grimoires today?" Alaric inquired and ordered a Scotch for himself.

"That we did. Depressing as hell, let me tell you. I'd rather spend a week locked in a cell with Miss Mystic Falls than to do that again," Damon countered while draining his Whisky. He immediately ordered another one.

"Speaking of Caroline – there she is," Alaric pointed at the door. Damon turned around to signal her to come over. He needed her to do him a favour. He was about to wave when he stopped dead. Tyler Lockwood just appeared next to her. Damon felt all his muscles tense up. He forced himself to calm down, but he quickly strode over to the two and stepped in their way.

"Oh, hey Damon – look who's back!" Caroline happily stated.

"What brings you back to Mystic Falls, Teen Wolf? Having a little urge to kill some more vampires? Where are your buddies? Right outside, I guess?" Damon growled at Tyler, who backed away a bit.

"Look man, I came here alone. I've called it quits with that pack. I'm on my own from now on. And I don't mean to harm anyone," Tyler tried to explain.

"Yeah, sure. I know for a fact that you can't play lonely wolf in a pack of weres. Why don't we take this outside, huh? Unlike other vampires present, I still haven't forgotten what happened before you left," Damon tried to provoke him.

Tyler's face changed from calm to angry. "Oh, I'm so in. After all, you did kill my uncle. Remember?" Tyler countered.

"Stop it, you two! We all made some mistakes in the past. But right now, we could really use all the help we can get. Why can't we all get along for a change?" Caroline interfered. Tyler and Damon didn't stop glaring at each other, but she went between them and pushed them aside. "Elena and Claire just returned home. Why don't you go have a look at what they bought, Damon?" she tried to distract the vampire. For once, she was lucky. He did back off Tyler and exited through the door. Caroline sighed relieved and ushered Tyler to a vacant table.

"Did you just say that Claire's back?" Tyler asked immediately after they had placed their order.

"Yeah, right, I so forgot to tell you," Caroline started off and told Tyler everything that happened since he had left.

* * *

In the meantime, a grumpy Damon had arrived at Elena's house. Jenna answered the door. After giving him a hostile glance, she let him in. "The girls are upstairs," Jenna informed him and left for the kitchen. Damon stood in front of Elena's room in a few seconds and knocked. He heard giggles and a squeaked "Come in" from Elena. He opened the door and saw the two girls engaged in a pillow fight. His mood improved within seconds and a smug grin appeared on his face.

"You girls always know how to cheer a man up," he stated while leaning casually against the door frame and taking in the scene. Claire shot him a cheeky look, and threw a pillow his way. It hit him hard in the stomach, but he just laughed it off. His phone rang and he quickly stepped outside the room to answer it.

"Hello, brother. Miss me already?" he greeted Stefan.

"Damon, get Claire and Elena and come over as fast as you can. I think I found something," his little brother answered.

"I'm on it."

* * *

Please R&R! You guys rock ;)


	15. The Discovery

**hey guys, I am so, so, so terribly sorry that I'm only updating today, I know that I said Tuesday to some of you... but I have good news: I've already written the next chapter, I'll upload it tomorrow, I promise!**

**as for the story: it's slightly getting more dangerous now, I am working on a few ideas on how to finish it off, but I haven't decided on one yet. What will come next: more James (he was sort of put on the shelf for now), some Damon/Claire power struggles, some Delena confusion and - of course - witch boot camp!**

**I hope you'll enjoy this one, please bear in mind that I have not seen last night's episode yet, so everything that's similar (or not) is a coincidence. **

* * *

"And he didn't say what he found?" an excited Claire asked from the passenger seat of Damon's car while they were racing towards the Boarding house. Without any further explanation, Damon had commanded the girls to follow him immediately and only told them in the car what was going on.

"No, but he sounded really grave. So I guess it's something big," he answered while pulling up in front of his home. Quickly, they all got out of the car and inside the house. They found Katherine and Stefan in the living room. There were books on the ground everywhere, lose pages were fluttering around and Stefan and Katherine were engaged in a wild fight.

"For the last time: Tell me or I'm gonna kill you!" Katherine threatened Stefan.

"No way. I won't tell you and I know for a fact that you would never kill me!" Stefan returned. In a flash, she was on top of him, holding a stake dangerously close to his heart. Elena let out a scream and Damon sped off to rescue his brother, but Claire had already taken care of the situation. Both Stefan and Katherine were pinned against the wall like puppets.

"Are you insane? Let me down!" a furious Stefan yelled at Claire.

"He's right, what are you keeping him for? It's obviously her who has overstepped a boundary once more!" Damon tried to help his brother. But Claire seemed surprisingly unaffected.

"I want to know what's going on. And I won't let you down until you tell me the truth," she calmly said.

"She overheard my phone call and now she wants to know what I've found," Stefan explained quite annoyed. With a soft thud, he fell on the floor. Elena quickly hurried over to him to check that he's okay. Claire strolled lazily towards Katherine who tried to play calm, but that witch scared the hell out of her.

"Why are you so interested in this whole Klaus situation, Katherine?" Claire asked.

"Because it's also my head who's at stake here. I've been hiding from him for centuries. If he finds her, he'll find me too and we'll both gonna die," she said tensely.

"Yeah, I've heard that one before, but I have this feeling that you're not telling us everything you have planned. Tell me, am I mistaken?"

A smug grin appeared on Katherine's face and she answered with a malicious tone in her voice "I guess you'll have to trust me on this one."

"Wrong answer," Claire said sweetly and with a wave of her hand, the stake that Katherine had held in her hand before flew across the room and landed straight in her stomach. She screamed in pain.

"Well? Wanna add anything to that statement?" Claire teased her.

"Fuck you!" was everything she got from the vampire. The stake started wandering towards Katherine's heart. She screamed even more. Elena turned to look away. This was too much for her. She hurried into the kitchen. Seeing this side of her friend was a bit terrifying.

"We can do this all day and night long, Katherine. I won't stop until you tell me everything that goes on in your little brain. We have to work together on this one, and it won't work if you're having a viscous agenda on your own," Claire said.

"Fine!" Katherine finally grunted. The pain was almost unbearable and she regretted that she had sprinkled the stake with Vervaine before. She just wanted to tease Stefan, but now, that her weapon was used against her, that idea had went all wrong. Claire eyed her suspiciously before removing the stake with a short wave of her hand. Katherine took a deep breath.

"Besides this whole doppelganger-issue, Klaus has a bit more personal vengeance on his mind, too," Katherine started off.

"Continue," Claire encouraged her while listening in closely.

"When we first met in England all those years ago, we also had an affair. I did not know of the whole situation, I thought he was just a nobleman who was quite attractive. After some time, he even asked me to stay with him permanently. I think he was trying to figure out a way to spare me. But I of course toyed a bit with him, and when I got bored, I wanted to leave. As it turned out, that was not so easy. Klaus was strongly offended by me rejecting him, so he captured me, told me every little detail of his sick plan to sacrifice the doppelganger, and even let his men torture me. I was lucky that I managed to escape. But I have heard from many vampires I met over the years that Klaus is still taking it all very personal and when he finds me, he will let me pay for my indecencies," Katherine explained and looked at Claire intensely.

"So you see, I have a right to know if you found a way to track him down or anything that can lead us to him!" she ended her little speech. Claire relaxed her muscles and strolled over to the couch, on which she fell lazily.

"I still don't fully trust you. If you ever try to cross me, I'm gonna kill you, Katherine, and this is not a joke. See it as a warning. However, I think we should include you in our plans," she said.

Damon and Stefan turned to Claire with surprised looks on their faces. "Are you serious? Everything she says is a possible lie!" Damon exclaimed.

"I know. But we can use all the help we can get. End of story. So, Stefan? What did you find?"

Damon silently growled and went into the kitchen to get Elena. Claire watched him carefully. Somehow she felt that he did not cope so well with her being more powerful than him. She made a mental note to make up for it later on so that all this anger finds a proper outlet. He returned with Elena and they gathered round the couch.

"I was looking through this one Grimoire here," Stefan started and took a very old book from under the couch table, where Katherine had tossed it. "It was written by one of the Medici family members who lived in Austria. There is a particular locating spell – accompanied by a few lines about 'the evil one'. I figured that this means Klaus and how to find him. Unfortunately, my Middle High German is a bit rusty," he continued while flipping through the pages.

"Let me have a try," Claire suggested while moving closer to Stefan. He found the spell and showed it to her.

"Okay… yeah, I think you may be right, Stefan. It talks about the most evil of all vampires… here it says, translated into German 'denn er ist der Schlimmste von allen, er wird nicht ruhen, bis der Zauber gebrochen und die Jungfer geopfert ist'," Claire continued.

„You speak German? What does it say?" Elena asked totally surprised.

"One of my nannies was from Austria. It means 'he is the worst of them all, he will not rest until the spell is broken and the virgin sacrificed'," Claire explained sternly.

Damon burst into laughter. "Since when are you a virgin? Don't tell me my brother has restrained himself?" he laughed at Elena.

"Damon, stop it. This is not the time to joke," Stefan snapped at his brother, but Claire had also started giggling. Elena looked at her and immediately joined in with her friend. Stefan looked at the three of them, completely speechless. Katherine shook her head.

"You are so mental. We are dealing with the most viscous of all vampires and you just start laughing!" she exclaimed. "We're doomed. Officially doomed."

"I'm sorry, but sometimes you just have to appreciate the little things. Even in dangerous situations," Claire said while wiping a tear of joy from her cheek. "Alright, let's get serious again. The spell is quite complex from what I can see," she mused while taking a closer look at it. "Oh."

"What 'Oh'?" Stefan asked, alarmed.

"I need another witch to do it with me. It's not just a locating spell. It transfers one witch to where he is. Of course, she won't be seen, but she will be there and she could be killed if anyone senses her. Bollocks," Claire looked concentrated now.

"Can you do it with Bonnie?" Stefan asked.

"That's a good question. I'd rather have my father come over. Bonnie may be a bit too weak," she said hesitantly.

"If she finds out that we're not gonna let her do this, she will be furious!" Elena interfered. "Is there no way you could teach her?"

"I was planning on training her, of course, but it would be quite risky. But even though he could be here any minute, I think we should take some time to prepare a plan before we do this. Maybe that time will be enough for Bonnie to get as strong. We should give it a try. What do you think?" she asked all of them.

"If you think it's possible, we should do it," Stefan said.

"I'm totally with you on this one," Elena said eagerly.

"Whatever, but if it goes wrong, we're all gonna die," Katherine added. They all looked at her angrily.

"Chances that we already do are quite high anyways. It's the only thing we have to find out where he is. I'd say we start some witch-boot camp," Damon finished.

Claire looked at them with an eager glow in her eyes. Slowly, a grin appeared on her lips. "Let's get started then," she encouraged them while taking out her phone to call Bonnie. "Let's see how long she will last," Claire thought to herself while waiting for her to pick up.

"Claire? Everything okay?" she was greeted by Bonnie.

"Yeah, sure. Listen, we found something on Klaus. A locator spell. But it only works with two witches," Claire started off.

"Wow, you found something? That's… awesome, I guess? When shall we do it?"

"You see, that's the point. Right now, you're a bit too weak to do it successfully," Claire said directly.

"Okay… so what did you have in mind then?" Bonnie asked, trying not to sound offended.

"You and I are gonna do a little training. Time for boot camp, Bonnie!" Claire announced happily.

On the other end of the line, Bonnie had to smile. That definitely sounded interesting.

"Let's do this, Claire!"

* * *

**Oh, and one official announcement: I've decided that I'm gonna write a Delena story during the summer break, after the last episode of this season. (That is, if it hasn't already happened on the show until then - still hoping!)**

**And please, please, please - REVIEW! it would mean a lot to me :)**


	16. I would be good for you

**There you go - I kept my promise ;) Even though I'm on vacation. I'm really proud of this one, I think it's a pretty great twist in the story and I was soooooo excited when I wrote it. If you like, please review!**

* * *

Caroline slowly opened her eyes to see the morning light fall softly through her window. It was comfortably warm and she snuggled herself closer to her pillow. For the first time in a very long time, she had slept well. No bad dreams, no insomnia, nothing. She felt enchanted. That way you only feel when you wake up after a good night's sleep and for a brief moment, everything seems fine. She smiled into her pillow and stretched her legs. Suddenly, she felt something against her leg. It took her a moment to remember that Tyler was with her before she fell asleep. Now she also noticed why she felt so warm: his body was pressed tight against hers. Caroline considered turning around, but it felt really good and she could tell from his breathing that he was still fast asleep. She had to smile even more. They had spent the last night at the Mystic Grill and afterwards, they watched a movie together at her house. Caroline was so relieved to have her best friend back, what with all the Matt-trouble, Klaus coming to kill Elena and her mum's usual distance to her daughter, it felt good to have someone who depended on her and who would be there for her. Pleased, she snuggled closer to Tyler, who instantly tightened his grip and drew her closer. Caroline let out a satisfied sigh and let herself fall asleep again…

* * *

Claire carefully entered Damon's room the morning after their big discovery. Actually, she had wanted to stay at his place for the night, but she had promised Elena some quality friend time, so they had watched 'The Notebook' and talked about everything that came to their minds. She knew almost everything about Elena now. Who she lost her virginity to, how Stefan was in bed, all the times Damon had make her feel uncomfortable (which, to her concern, were too many) and lots more. Somehow, she felt like this whole thing between Damon and Elena was still not over, even after their big fight in Deville.

"Damon? You here?" she said while entering his bedroom.

"Hrmpf," was everything she got. It had come from the balcony, where she could see Damon leaning against the railing, his shirt open and a glass full of brown liquor in his hand. The fallen angel again. That was not a good sign. Slowly, she walked over to him. He watched her move with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Good morning, hottie. How was your night?" she decided to play nice while she pressed her body tight to his and leaned in for a kiss. He did not move much, but she could feel the taste of scotch on his lips. Accompanied by… blood. She had tasted that before on him, but this one… it was different. She stopped dead and eyed him intensely. "Have you drained someone?"

He gave her an evil grin and moved fast so that he turned her around. Slowly, he was stroking down the side of her body and rested his chin against her shoulder, close to her neck. He started teasing her, planting open-mouthed kisses on her collar bone. She closed her eyes and sighed softly with pleasure. Suddenly, Claire could hear a noise in his bathroom and opened her eyes to see a beautiful blonde woman wrapped in a towel come out from it. She had some very distinct bite marks on her neck. Furious, she looked at her lover. He only shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like we're exclusive," he said languidly and pulled up his brows in his typical Damon-manner.

Claire looked at him for a moment before she turned around to leave. The exact thing she had feared when letting him into her life had happened: he had hurt her. She passed the woman who looked at her surprised and opened her mouth to say something when Claire cut across her. "Spare me." She fled his room and hurried outside, where she ran into Stefan.

"Hey, Claire! What's up?" he asked friendly, but when he saw the look on her face, his expression changed to concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked while grabbing her arm, or else she would have stormed past him.

Claire considered using her powers to get rid of him for a brief second, but he only meant her good, so it would be wrong. She sighed and said "Damon slept with someone else."

"I should've known. I'm sorry I didn't warn you, I thought it was you," he answered with a sad tone in his voice. He knew straight from the beginning that one of them would get hurt. He just thought it would be Damon. Once again, Stefan had underestimated his brother's ability to screw things up.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. If you'll excuse me, I'll have to go meet Bonnie. Our training starts today," she said friendly. When she was upset, she either went completely ballistic or totally 'British aristocrat'. This meant friendly as hell.

Stefan considered keeping her for a moment, but he figured that this was something she had to deal with herself. "Alright. I'll see you later?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Bye," Claire answered and wanted to go when he pulled her back again. To her surprise, he hugged her. She was so overwhelmed, she just stood there. Claire had not expected such sympathy from him. Until now, he had always been a bit untrusting towards her.

"I'm so sorry. Sometimes, he cannot help himself," he softly said.

They loosened their embrace and Claire only managed to nod appreciatively before she got into her car and drove off. Stefan watched her and immediately pulled out his cell phone to call Elena. He told her to attend the witch training and maybe have a little girl talk with Claire afterwards. They could not risk losing the witch that shortly before their encounter with Klaus. And if she was unfocused, her powers would suffer.

Claire sped towards the place she had chosen to teach Bonnie, an isolated clearing in the middle of the woods. The music was turned up real loud and she tightly clutched the steering wheel. Claire tried real hard to suppress her feelings, but to her own bad, "When Anger shows" by Editors was playing on her radio.

**In that moment you realise  
That something you thought would always be there will die  
Like everything else**

She tried to swallow down the tears that started to build in her eyes. She felt like there was a giant lump in her throat that suffocated her.

**These thoughts I must not think of  
Dreams I cant make sense of  
I need you to tell me its ok  
These thoughts I must not think of  
Dreams I cant make sense of  
I need you to tell me its ok**

Claire finally gave in to the tears; the song was just too apt. When she could not see any more, she stopped at the side of the road, buried her face in her hands and started weeping. Why? Why was this happening to her? For the first time in her whole life she felt attached to someone, and then he hurt her like this? What had she done to deserve being treated that badly? Claire knew no answers anymore. The minutes passed in a blur while Claire could not stop crying. It felt like all these emotions she had suppressed over the years finally surfaced. Now, it was not just about Damon anymore, it was about everything that had ever made her feel bad. She was a true master of repression, but she had always known that there would be a time when it would all come up again. What she did not know before was how much it would hurt. She couldn't stop, it was like an avalanche who continued rolling and rolling and rolling…

* * *

Caroline woke up for the second time this morning when her bed was moving. She could hear Tyler moan next to her. Slowly, she turned round to look at him. He blinked at her in confusion and grinned.

"Good morning," she said happily.

"Mornin'," he mumbled and smiled, too. It also had been a good night for him and he was still a bit caught up in that amazing dream he had. Lazily, he turned to face Caroline and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You were awesome," he joked.

Caroline laughed and snuggled against his shoulder. It felt good. Really, really good.

"What time is it?" he asked sleepily.

"Around 10, I guess," Caroline answered and checked her watch. "Fuck! It's already 11:30! I promised Bonnie I'd help her with the witch-training! They started at 11! Shoot!" she cursed and hurried out of Tyler's embrace and the warm and cosy bed. Bonnie had called her late last night to tell her about their discovery and ask if Caroline would help her practice.

"Hmpf… Have fun!" Tyler said drowsy while almost falling asleep again. In a flash, Caroline had grabbed his arm and had pulled him out of the bed. "Damn it! What are you doing?" he protested.

"What do you think? You're coming with me! I'm not gonna let you relax here while I work my ass off!" she explained while changing into new clothes. She caught Tyler staring at her breasts, which were covered in a pink lace bra and flushed a bit. That was an aspect of their friendship she did not like to think of. All this tension was fine when they were just friends, but every time it got more intimate, she felt weird. "Come on! Get dressed!" she commanded him while he was still staring at her.

"Yeah, right," he mumbled and reached for his shirt. His body was not so bad, either, Caroline thought while he covered it up. Five minutes later, they were on their way to the clearing Bonnie had described to Caroline.

* * *

Claire was still in her car, weeping. It already felt like hours that she spent here, even though it must have been no more than 30 minutes. She had laid her face against the steering wheel which was wet all over. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and someone slid into the seat next to her. She turned around and saw the last person in Mystic Falls she expected to see.

"I see that preposterous Damon character has finally shown his real face? I thought so. Come here, it's all going to be okay," the Earl said and pulled Claire into a hug.

"Khrmpf," was everything Claire managed to say. This was no time for vowels.

"Shhh… you're gonna be fine, darling," he comforted her. She buried her face in his chest. In that moment, it did not matter to her that he was trying to blackmail her into marrying him. She just needed a shoulder to cry on, and he was providing one.

After a few more minutes, she finally managed to calm down a bit. At least the crying had stopped. James was softly stroking her hair. She was still surprised at this side of him. He obviously didn't mind that she had soaked his shirt with her tears. How untypical.

"You know, even though you hate me, I would never hurt you like that," he suddenly said. "We might not get along straight from the beginning, but I have this feeling that it will work out. In fact, I think we're not so different, you and I."

Claire almost started to laugh. That was the second time in a few days that two people who she actually hated had said these exact words to her. First Katherine, now James. Was it really true? Were there any similarities between them?

James had felt her react to his words, but he was not sure whether it was a positive or a negative reaction. It was a pure coincidence that he had found her here. He was just driving around when he noticed the car. That was his big chance. She was clearly upset, and he could use that for his advantage. He did not mean her any bad, but with her dismissive behaviour, he needed an extreme situation like this to make her listen to him. He gently cupped her chin and turned her head to face him. It was a heartbreaking look. Her sad, green eyes were still red and swollen and so were her lips. Those full, sexy lips…

"I would be good for you," he said with a hoarse voice and slowly bent his head until their lips touched. He gave her a shy kiss and retreated only an inch to wait for her reaction. Time stood still. He felt like his heart had stopped until finally she kissed him back. Her kiss was not shy; it was longing and extremely passionate. She straightened up and climbed on his lap immediately. That was the scene he had dreamt of since he first set eyes on her. His hands were exploring her body, so were hers. She tore a few buttons off his shirt when she ripped it off him and planted kisses on his chest. James leaned back and let himself go… Finally.

* * *

**What do you think? ;)**


	17. Surreal

**Okay, guys, this is a rather short chapter, but I decided to post it as one just because I think it will work better with the way I'll arrange the next chapter (not that I know that right now, but sometimes you just have a feeling). I'm sort of seriously routing for the Earl right now, somehow he seems sweet and interesting after all, but no worries, Claire and Damon will sure work out their problems in the end - or will they? Well, you just have to keep on reading to find that out ;)**

**Thanks so much for your support!**

* * *

"Who was that?" the skinny blonde woman wrapped in one of Damon's towels asked confused after Claire had left the room.

He took a big sip of his liquor and gave her an annoyed look. "None of your business, Mae."

"Just asking," she answered snappily. "So, tell me. Five years and all of sudden, you booty call me again. Why?"

"I needed a distraction. You can go now. Great seeing you again," Damon grumpily answered while trying to leave the room. She grabbed his wrist.

"You treated me like crap once, I'm not gonna let it happen again. I'm gonna stay."

Damon shot her a surprised look "You're gonna do what?"

"I'm gonna stay right here in this house until you give us a shot," she answered.

"Damn it, and I thought I wouldn't have to do this with you anymore...," Damon sighed while he turned around to compel her. He had done it many times during the short period they had spent together. Mae was a local waitress, and he had picked her up one night a few years ago not too far from Mystic Falls. She was great in bed, funny, sexy and passionate. But she was also annoying. That girl seriously believed that they were meant for each other. He had to end it once and for all. Unfortunately, his pride was hurt and she was in the position to make him feel superior. "What the heck...," he thought and dragged her into his bed again. He would let Claire suffer. Even though, deep down, he knew that it wasn't her fault and that he was just being a total ass. But at that moment, another ass was what caught his attention more.

* * *

In the meantime, Caroline and Tyler had just arrived at the parking lot in the woods. They would have to park the car and continue on from there by foot.

"Tell me, why the hell do I have to come with you again?" Tyler asked a nervous Caroline.

"First of all: so I won't have to do this alone while you sleep peacefully in my bed, and second: we could also use a werewolf to practice on," she answered.

"Wait, wait," he said while stopping behind her. "I'm not some sort of human guinea pig you can test your stuff on all you want!" He looked at her angrily.

Carolin sighed and walked the few steps back to him. Carefully, she took his hand "We are in a very, very dangerous situation here with Klaus and everything. And all of us could use all the help we can get. We're not gonna treat you as some sort of practice device. You're my friend, Tyler, and right now, I really need you to do this with me. For all of us. Please," Caroline told him.

The expression in his eyes softened immediately and he found his thumbs softly massaging her hand while loosing himself in her eyes. "Alright, but I'll go once it gets too much!" he finally agreed.

Caroline shot him a dashing smile and let go of his hand to continue their little hike. "Come on, then!" And off into the woods she ran. Tyler grinned happily and followed her in an instant.

* * *

"That was... surreal," James lazily mumbled into Claire's messy hair. They were still in her car, the seats pushed back and completely naked. From the moment she had kissed him back on, everything went completely and utterly crazy and they had engaged in hot, passionate and raw sex. She was driving him wild with her superb body, her great instincts and that mouth... and all the things she did with it. Now she lay cuddled against his chest, breathing heavily. Both were more than exhausted. Claire buried her face deeper in his chest. She was sort of ashamed, because she had promised herself never to do anything to encourage the Earl. And now there she was, lying naked next to him. Good job. But he had surprised her with his sympathy and his hot body. Damn it! Just this once, she wished she could resist a body like his. And he knew how to use it as well. Even now, she could feel her muscles ache. Slowly, she sat up and tried to gather her clothes. She felt his strong hand softly closing around her wrist.

"We should talk about this," he started.

"I'm still not gonna marry you, James," Claire calmly answered. She felt his grip loosen up. Surprised, she looked at him for the first time since their kiss. Claire had expected some protest.

"Alright. I won't force you. But there is one thing I demand," he said in a business-man like manner. Claire raised one brow in surprise.

"And what would that be, my Lord?" she asked arrogantly and additionally, climbed on his lap again. He was just too damn sexy. He tried to play calm, but she could feel a distinct lump in his lap that told her that he was reacting to her body the same way she was to his. Slowly, he lied down a bit more to take in her full, naked body. He grinned smugly.

"I want you to spend time with me. Just try," he answered while stroking her body in places that made her almost lose her senses. He was like a dangerous drug, and she was addicted to it. With a moan, she had bent over his body to kiss him once more and their little tango was about to start all over again when her phone suddenly rang. It brought Claire back to reality and she fumbled for it in her bag. James was uttering sounds of dislike.

"Elena?" she answered a bit out of breath.

"Hey, Claire! Where are you? We have been waiting for almost an hour? Is everything alright?" her friend inquired. Hastily, Claire checked the watch on her dashboard only to see that it was already 12:03 PM and she had totally forgotten about their witch-training.

"Damn it! I'm with you in 20 minutes, I'm so sorry!" she said and hung up. "I really, really need to go. You have to leave," she instructed James.

"Just this once, I will do as you say. But this is not over," he said while he collected his clothes and stepped out of the car. Totally naked. Claire stopped in her hurry and watched in disbelief while he proudly walked back to his own car and took all the time in the world to get dressed right next to the street. A few cars passed, but he didn't seem to mind. That man was even more a mystery than she had expected. Grinning broadly, she finally started her car and sped off towards the clearing. Time for some training on how to kick ass the witch-way.

* * *

**Please review! Thx a lot :)**


	18. Boot Camp

**Well, hello again: here's the chapter of the witch-training (finally), which, to my own surprise, is a bit longer than I expected. I already started writing the next one which will focus on Damon mostly. So if you're looking for more Damon/Claire-action: coming up next! Thank you so much for reading :)**

* * *

"She must be here any minute now," a nervous Elena said for the tenth time since she had talked to Claire on the phone. Bonnie and her were waiting in the middle of the woods for quite some time now. Elena knew that she was probably quite furious about Damon's behaviour, but Claire had sounded sort of... excited on the phone. Something was seriously wrong.

"Hey guys, look who I brought!" Caroline interrupted Elena's thoughts as she stepped into the clearing from the opposite side that they had been facing. They turned around and found their vampire friend accompanied by no other than Tyler Lockwood. Bonnie eyed him suspiciously, but Elena immediately greeted him and gave him a big hug.

"I'm glad you're back," she said with a smile. He smiled back shyly.

"Where's Claire?" Caroline suddenly asked. She had expected everyone to be here already, given the fact that she herself was late.

"Um... there was a bit of an issue with Damon. She's gonna be late, but I phoned her and she should be here any minute," Elena answered a bit uncomfortable, hoping she wouldn't need to go into further details. But of course, she was talking to noisy Caroline.

"Seriously? What did he do?" she asked eagerly, ignoring Elena's unpleasant expression. Luckily for her, Bonnie answered.

"He screwed up like always. But it doesn't matter know. Remember why we came here in the first place?" she reminded them. Caroline shot her a guilty look. Bonnie was extremely nervous since they had arrived here. She had no idea how Claire was going to teach her, and she feared that her powers would not be strong enough. She just wished that the other witch would get here already, the waiting was dreadful.

They all heard some rustling to their right and moments later, Claire stepped out from under the trees, carrying a heavy backpack and a large knife in one hand. In the other, she held some twigs and leaves. Elena checked her friend's face for any signs of tears or distress, but Claire looked stunning. She had this light natural blush on her cheeks and her eyes sparkled more than usual. She smiled while she closed in on them.

"Hey, guys, I am so terribly sorry for my delay! Oh, hey, Tyler!" she happily said and stepped over to hug him tightly. Tyler couldn't believe his eyes. Claire had always been a pretty girl, but that woman was extraordinarily good looking. And she smelled so good...

"Alright, let's start this!" Bonnie interfered once again. The two loosened their embrace and Claire opened her backpack.

"Right, first of all we're gonna need to do some soul-searching. Bonding with nature and so forth. Have you already detected which element suits you best?" Claire asked Bonnie.

"Well, I've only ever used fire so far," she answered.

"That's okay. It's probably the one that suits you best, but we're gonna try the others, too, just to be sure. We cannot allow any mistakes now. I hope you understand how extremely important this is and that you'll have to work very hard and push yourself to your limits to gain the necessary power?"

Bonnie nodded gravely. "I do, and I'm willing to do anything to help save Elena," she answered.

Claire gave her an encouraging smile. Then, turning towards the others, she said: "We're gonna see how fast Bonnie can apply the things I will be teaching her, but it may be that we won't need you at all today. Being a witch is largely about being one with nature and your surroundings. If we're having problems with that, we won't be able to continue on to combat training for quite some time."

Elena nodded understandingly, Caroline pulled a sulky face and Tyler expressed something between disbelief and amusement. That girl talked like a sergeant. She would definitely be a good teacher. The three of them sat down at the edge of the meadow, right under a big tree. Claire was now making a circle with the twigs she had carried in her hand before. When she was finished, she poured salt over them. Bonnie watched a bit suspicious.

"Why do we need the salt?" she asked Claire.

"It purifies and keeps out all evil spirits. Comes in pretty handy sometimes. Plus, it also keeps out the slugs," she added with a slight shiver.

"You afraid of slugs?" Bonnie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know, so pathetic, right? But please don't tell anyone. I think it's probably my Kryptonite. That and sexy men," she sighed. Bonnie chuckled lightly. "You ready?" she asked and Bonnie nodded.

Claire shot her a short grin before her face became concentrated. She walked into the middle of the circle, closed her eyes, opened her hands and started murmuring an incantation which sounded dark and dangerous. Suddenly, the leaves she had carried before flew around her in a magical way. Not like they were flying with the wind, but more soaring through zero gravity. Her voice became louder and the leaves started to whirl faster. Bonnie, who was standing a few feet away from her, watched in awe. Claire opened her eyes and stretched her hands towards Bonnie, who walked over and took hers. The leaves were now circling around them both, and it was very hard for the three spectators to see what was going on. Suddenly, a bright light seemed to explode from the two of them, and in the next moment, it was all over. Bonnie was kneeling on the ground before Claire who enthroned over her. The weaker witch looked altered all over sudden, like she had gone through tremendous exertions.

"Bonnie!" Elena shouted and ran over to her friend, just in time to catch her before she would have fallen to the ground completely. Her eyes were closed and she seemed unconscious. "What did you do to her?" Elena screamed at Claire, whose eyes were still closed and whose body seemed to vibrate slightly. She let out a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"She's not hurt, that is a normal reaction," she said while kneeling down next to Bonnie. "Let me hold her," she instructed Elena who backed away hesitantly. As soon as Claire held Bonnie, she stroked from her forehead down to her stomach, murmuring incantations again, but this time, they sounded soft and caring. Elena felt a warm wave come over her, like she had just drunken hot cocoa on a cold winter's day. She felt extremely comfortable all over sudden. Bonnie's body also reacted to the spell, she started breathing stronger and now looked like she was sleeping, not unconscious. Claire smiled at her tenderly and nestled the body deeper against her own. Elena watched curiously and shot her friend an expectant look.

"What was that?" she asked. Caroline and Tyler also came over now, obviously a bit afraid. They tried to enter the circle, but it was like an invisible wall was before them, they could not enter.

"What the fuck?" Tyler exclaimed confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, wait a sec," Claire said calmly and with a short wave of her hand, the blockage was gone and the vampire and the werewolf could enter. With curious glances at Bonnie, they sat down on each side of Elena.

"What did you do to her?" Caroline whispered a bit intimidated.

"I looked into her soul. Measured what strength she has and how far she could go. She's so knocked out now because this is quite strenuous to endure. But she'll be okay," she explained while stroking Bonnie's hair. Elena was surprised to see her so lovingly towards her friend. Witches really must have strong bonds was the only explanation she could come up with.

"And how strong is she?" Tyler interrupted Elena's thoughts.

"Well, she's got more potential power than I expected. But it will take a lot of training to channel it all," Claire answered and watched Bonnie critically. She had seen so many things inside of Bonnie, so many memories and feelings. Surprisingly, the Bennet-line seemed to be stronger than previously assumed. She would have to call her father to tell him about this interesting development. Now, she hoped that it was not too much for Bonnie and that she would wake up soon, so that they could continue their training. Claire desperately needed the distraction. In her mind, she was thinking about James and Damon non-stop. It was driving her crazy. Additionally, she knew that Elena must have heard about the incident, because she was eying her suspiciously. Thank god Caroline and Tyler were here, so she wouldn't have to talk about Damon. That raised an idea in her head...

"Alright, Bonnie's gonna need some time. I suggest we continue," she said while laying Bonnie carefully on the ground and standing up.

"What do you mean? I thought we were here to train Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

"Just because I am the trainer doesn't mean that I won't need some action as well. It has been a while...," Claire mused while walking a few feet away from the circle. "If you two would possibly be so kind and attack me?" she encouraged Tyler and Caroline with an elegant hand gesture.

"Um... I'm not a werewolf right now, you know that, right?" Tyler answered.

"Yeah, sure. But first of all, you're a man, and second quite strong. Come on!" she gestured.

Caroline watched her slightly amused. She could not imagine her being stronger than a vampire. "Okay, but I've just done my nails. Please don't mess them up," she said while getting ready to attack. Claire only laughed.

Elena moved over to the unconscious Bonnie and watched in excitement. She was eager to see Claire unleash her full powers, so far she didn't see much action. Caroline prepared to lunge at Claire, and when she sped off, all Elena could see was a blonde blur which, within seconds, was thrown high up into the trees where she landed on a thick branch about 10 feet from the ground. The witch looked at her in amusement.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that if you ever want to kill a witch. Again!"


	19. All things lead to the Grill

**Alright, here it goes again: another chapter full of drama. I really, really, really hope you'll like it. sorry if there's not so much Klaus-action going on right now, I'll try to get to the point, but Damon and Claire are just so full of conflict that I feel like I'll have to deal with them first. AND: I think I'm gonna update soon, probably even tomorrow, as my writing is going really smooth right now. Enjoy and thank you so much for reading my story :) (and it would be more than awesome if you could review)**

* * *

Damon had just finally dismissed Mae and retreated to his favourite part of the house, the bar, when he heard a soft chuckle behind him. He turned around to see Katherine seductively leaning in the door frame.

"What do you want?" he greeted her aggressively.

"Oh, why so sulky, Damon? Had a little lovers' fight?" she teased while strolling towards him. He only grunted and poured himself some Scotch. Katherine grabbed herself a glass and gestured him to fill it, too. "Cheers," she said and took a deep sip.

"I'm not in the mood for mind games, so could you please fuck off?" Damon asked rudely.

"It might surprise you, but I've actually come here to tell you about a very interesting recent development concerning your little witch-bitch," Katherine answered nonchalant.

"What happened?" Damon asked alerted.

"Not that it would interest me much, but it seems that while you were enjoying the company of a working class waitress, Claire didn't waste time alone..." she teased him. Katherine could clearly see that Damon was extremely aggravated.

"You're making this up just to annoy me. I know for a fact that she's training Bonnie right now," he answered relieved.

"Yes, she's doing that now, but don't you wanna know what happened after you broke her heart?" Katherine teased with a more than malicious tone in her voice.

Damon stopped dead. He knew that she was hurt, but was it enough to make her act impulsively? Alerted, he turned around to face the other vampire. He needed to know if Katherine was telling the truth. "What did you see?" he moved closer to her and tried to intimidate the vampire with his piercing blue stare.

Katherine eyed him amused. Even though he tried to play cool, she could clearly see that he was dying to know what she saw. She considered toying with him first, but he would totally freak out once she told him, and Katherine was so looking forward to this reaction. What it was with Claire that brought out this side of him she didn't know, but she liked it. Somehow, she loved that malicious Damon even more when his anger wasn't directed at her. Casually, she leant against an antique table and smirked at him.

"I was following the Earl – you know, Claire sort of blackmailed me into getting it on with him – when he ran into her. Long story short, looks like she doesn't need me to get rid of him anymore, she really seemed to enjoy their quickie in her car," she told him head-on.

Damon's eyes widened in shock. His whole body froze. Could it be? Was Katherine telling the truth? He turned away from her and growled a low "Get out. Now." She didn't even hesitate. On her way out, Katherine chuckled mischievous. Damon took his glass and started pacing the room. To say he was angry was nowhere near close to what he was feeling. He banged a big hole into the wall when he thought about how that dirty little aristocrat must have enjoyed Claire's delicate body. His glass broke into a thousand pieces when he realized how hurt she must have been. And he threw a table through the whole living room when he comprehended that this was all his fault. He and his fucking pride.

"You should fix this, it's not too late," he suddenly heard his brother's voice from the stairs. There he stood, arms crossed, a worried look on his face. Damon knew that he had heard everything. He also knew that he only meant to help and that, looking at their past, this was a really great progress towards something like a normal relationship between brothers. But he just couldn't take his advice. Admitting it to himself that it was his fault was one thing, but to his brother? No way.

"I'm not the one who should fix it. She slept with the arch-enemy, I was just having fun with a normal girl," he growled while heading towards the entrance door.

"Where are you going?" Stefan hurried after him.

"Don't worry, little brother, I won't do anything stupid. Just drowning my sorrows at the Grill," he answered and tried to play calm. But as he drove away, Stefan was everything but convinced that his brother was okay.

* * *

After about half an hour and a totally exhausted Caroline later, Bonnie finally woke up. She sat up straight and stared right at Claire, who was just hovering the weak blonde vampire off a tree. Elena looked at her friend alerted. She didn't know if Bonnie was going to attack or thank Claire. The other witch felt the change that went through the air when Bonnie woke up and turned around to see her slowly walking towards to where she was standing. Claire didn't move, she knew what would come. Bonnie stopped right in front of her, slowly raised a hand to touch her face, and, once she was accustomed to the touch, pulled Claire into a tight hug. Tears were running down her eyes while she pressed her body tight against the stronger witch. During her little spell, she had not only been the one who was examined, no, she had also seen into Claire's soul, and what she saw was heart-breaking. So much pain. Bonnie couldn't comprehend how one person could bear so much suffering. Claire hugged her back and tried real hard to stay calm. The last thing they needed were two witches having simultaneous nervous breakdowns in the middle of nowhere. She softly stroked Bonnie's sobbing body to try and calm her down. It didn't work. She turned around to face Elena and gestured her to come over and hug Bonnie as well. Before she knew what was happening, all five of them were standing in one enormous hug right in the middle of the clearing. Bonnie had calmed down, but nobody let go of each other. It was just so... pleasant. They were all desperately in need of some comfort.

Minutes later, they eventually broke free from each other when Elena's phone didn't stop ringing. She excused herself and answered Stefan's call. He was probably just checking in on their progress.

While Elena was talking to her boyfriend, the others were preparing to leave the woods and go home. Claire pulled Bonnie aside and handed her a very big notebook.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked eagerly.

"It's my Grimoire. I think you should look it through. There are some very handy spells in it that we won't have time to practice, so familiarize yourself with them. We're gonna tackle the big ones, but that one for example," Claire said and pointed to a small paragraph scribbled into one corner "makes you see your surroundings from above, like you were flying. Trust me, I've used it plenty of times, and it's not even that complicated."

"Sounds good. Thank you so much!" Bonnie answered thankfully. Additionally, she made a mental note to start a Grimoire herself. She had never thought of it before, always assumed that this was something only the ancient witches did. Now was the time to change that.

Elena returned to the group and said "Hey, Claire, can I ride home with you?"

"Yeah, sure," her friend answered a bit hesitantly. She knew that something must have happened with Damon, Elena had that 'I'm worried that Damon will lose it'-look on her face. She sighed and they made their way back to the parking lot. To her own liking, Tyler was catching up with her and they started chatting along. The two of them had always gotten along more than well and she was glad to see that despite all his werewolf-troubles, he hadn't changed much.

When they reached their cars, everyone quickly said goodbye and drove off. Claire tried to waste some time fumbling for her keys in her bag. She really didn't want to get into the car with Elena, knowing that her friend would instantly want to know about what had happened. Eventually, she couldn't postpone their departure any longer and so she decided to just face it and get into the car. Not long after they had started driving, Elena began.

"I know you and Damon had a fight. Stefan also told me that Katherine visited Damon and told him something that made him trash half the living room. What's going on?"

Claire almost drove off the road in shock. He knew? That stupid little vampire bitch... now she had seriously signed her death sentence. She remembered that Elena was watching her carefully, so she took a deep breath and looked at her friend. "It's complicated."

"I know, it always is. Just tell me, I won't judge," she said. Claire shot her a suspicious look, but all she could see on Elena's face was pure interest. No mischievous glance, no dark and twisted thoughts. Damn it, she had spent to much time around vampires that she even had to check her best friend for second thoughts. She took one last deep breath and decided to just spit it out.

"I slept with James." There it was. She said it. Actually, it felt good having told someone. Claire almost felt relieved. That was, until hell broke lose on the passenger seat.

"You did WHAT? Oh no, no, no, no, no! What were you thinking?" Elena shouted at her friend.

"Seriously, Elena? Five No's? Wow," Claire stated unaffected by her friend's rage.

"Do not try to distract me! What on earth did you do that for?"

"I was crushed, okay? Seeing Damon with that other girl was just so... hard. I've never allowed myself to care for any of the guys I was sleeping with, but he was just so much more... and then, what happened? First chance he gets, he throws it all away! And then James was there... and he was really... sweet, actually," Claire finally admitted.

"So you decided that you were gonna forget about all your efforts to get rid off him and just give in – because Damon hurt you?" Elena sighed angrily. They were just pulling in front of Elena's house. Stefan was waiting for them outside. As soon as Claire had stopped the car, Elena stormed into the house before her friend could even try to explain. She got out as well and looked more than depressed. Stefan looked at her compassionately.

"Give her some time, she'll surely calm down," he said and turned to go after his girlfriend.

Claire slouched herself against the hood of her car. What a great mess she had gotten herself into. After a few minutes, she pulled herself up and got into the car again. There was only one solution to all her problems right now. Alcohol. She started the motor and hit the road towards the Mystic Grill.


	20. Note

**Alright guys, the next chapter is coming along soon – I promise (it's just that I'm having major problems with the whole Claire/Damon conflict – really tough to write!).**

**At this point of the story, I have to say that I'm just so thankful to all of you! I would have never guessed that my story – my little imaginary something – would get so many reviews, favourites and story alerts! You rock!**

**Additionally, I am very proud to announce that Claire is making a guest appearance in another VD fanfic, the fabulous 'Drink Carefully' written by Naishu. She asked me if she could borrow Claire, and I immediately accepted, as her character is not so different from mine. Be sure to check it out, it's really amazing!**

**I hope you're not too disappointed when you're reading this and were expecting the next chapter... I'm quite certain that it will be up tomorrow! Just in time for the new episode ;)**

**All I have left to say now is, once again: Thank you! Danke! Merci! Gracias! Grazie! Tack!**


	21. Showdown

**Okay, okay, I know - I said I would update Thursday, and I am a jerk for not doing so. Thing is at first I got accidentally wasted, and then I didn't wanna finish this chapter with a more than big hangover. BUT: now I did it! I am quite proud of it, actually, and I really hope you'll enjoy it too! And please, please, please with a cherry on top - review! I would love to get your feedback!**

**And don't forget to check out 'Drink Carefully' by Naishu! Claire sort of saves the day in her story :D**

* * *

While drowning his third Bourbon, Damon was lazily eying the women at the Grill this night. His mood had not improved much, so he knew that there was only one thing that might bring him a little satisfaction: blood. A lovely brunette with long legs and short hair had caught his attention and he was seductively staring her down. She was playing with her hair in a nervous way. Good. That would be easy. He emptied his glass and strolled towards the girl.

Claire got out of her car and almost ran into the Grill. Never before was she that much in need of alcohol. She entered and headed for the bar when she froze. Damon was there. Damn it! She had expected him to be at the Boarding House, wallowing in self-pity.

Suddenly, there was a familiar scent... Damon stopped and looked around to see Claire standing in the entrance door. She had a mixture of anger and fear on her face. They stared at each other for a moment, before he turned away and walked towards his next victim.

Claire stared at his back in disbelief. He seriously dreaded talking to her! That only meant one thing: he believed Katherine. Damn it! When she came here, she was just angry and hurt, but now she was furious. She considered going after him and slapping him right here and there, but then she decided that she would not play that openly. She walked to the Bar and sat down next to a dark blonde guy with a muscular back. He turned to her and grinned immediately. "Wow," Claire thought in surprise "he's really good-looking. What a catch!"

"Would you like a drink?" he asked with a sexy grin and – to her surprise – British accent. Claire nodded and shot him admiring glances. From the corner of her eye, she could see Damon talking to a pretty brunette woman. Fury wallowed inside of her, and she touched the stranger's hand to stroke down his muscular arms. He turned his body towards her and handed her a glass of Whisky. They toasted and locked eyes while sipping from their drinks. He rested a hand on her thigh. She grinned encouragingly. Time to play dirty.

* * *

After Bonnie's training, Tyler volunteered to drive Caroline home, because the vampire was more than exhausted. She had fought against Claire again and again, but the witch was just too strong for her. It was not in vain, though, Caroline had learnt a few good tricks herself, but she hardly managed it to the car, and now she was almost passed out on the passenger seat.

Tyler was looking at her, worried. "Do you need anything?"

"No, please just drive me home. I'll have a few blood bags and I'll be alright in no time," she almost whispered.

When the car finally stopped in front of Caroline's house, she tried to make it into the house on her own, but her legs were like jelly. Fortunately, Tyler was already there and, without any hesitation, picked her up and carried her in.

"I've always dreamed about a guy carrying me over the threshold, I just thought it would have been on my wedding day," she mumbled into his chest. A smile escaped Tyler's lips. Even when she was almost knocked out, Caroline never forgot about her girly dreams. He carried her up into her room and put her softly on the bed.

"Where is the blood? I'll get you some," he asked. She gave him the instructions and he hurried into the basement and dug through various layers of chicken and beef meat, frozen vegetables and TV dinners just to find a few blood bags hidden at the bottom of the Sheriff's freezer. He brought her some and after she had two, the colour finally returned to her cheeks and her eyes seemed much livelier.

Tyler stayed with her for a while, watching TV, and when she finally fell asleep, he got up to leave. Since he returned, he hadn't seen his mother that much, and she was probably already worried where he was all the time. However, when he had reached the door, Caroline called out his name. He turned around to see what she wanted, just to realize that she was still asleep and that she was asking for him in her dreams. Lines of worry now appeared on her forehead and she didn't stop calling for him. Tyler returned to the bed, sat down beside her and stroked her softly. Immediately, she calmed down and snuggled closer to him. He sighed. Seems like he would have to spend another night at her house. He turned the TV on again, kicked off his shoes and made himself comfortable in her bed. "Well, there are worse things," he thought to himself while Caroline was already lying all over his chest. He shot a blissful smile towards the sleeping vampire and let out a satisfied sigh.

* * *

Bonnie returned home just to find a furious Jeremy waiting for her in her room.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were going to your training?" he said tensely.

"Look, Jer... I'm sorry, but I didn't want you to see me weak, in case she was gonna do something exhausting to me. Turns out she did, and I'm actually not in the mood to discuss this with you right now," Bonnie replied before letting herself drop on the bed. She was still not fully restored. After all, she was passed out for almost half an hour.

He eyed her critically, but decided that she was probably serious about this. Jeremy sat down next to her and Bonnie snuggled against him. "Was it that bad? What did you do?"

"She looked into my soul," Bonnie replied faintly.

"She did what?" Jeremy could hardly believe it. "How can someone look into your soul?"

"Apparently, pristine witches can. And she's one of those, given the whole family history," Bonnie replied.

"Wow," Jeremy said while softly stroking her hair. "And how was it?"

"I can't... put it into words. It was like I was re-living all the tragic and happy moments of my life. I felt so many emotions... and then I could see into her soul, too. Jeremy, I have never felt like this before. I don't know how she can take it all. It was like I would break...," her voice was shaking.

"What happened then?"

"I passed out. They told me I was gone for about half an hour. We drove home after that," she replied.

Jeremy pulled her closer. He was angry at her for not telling him, but now it sort of made sense. He would have gone crazy if he would have been there. Slowly, her body seemed to relax and her breathing became more even. After a while, Bonnie was fast asleep. But Jeremy's mind was racing. He was confused. Claire always seemed so calm and controlled... what had happened to her that her insides were that messed up?

* * *

"So, my friend and I, we were like – let's go crazy! And then we did shots at the bar, and – can you believe it? - an hour later we were dancing around in the ocean, singing and drinking. It was so epic!" the pretty, but quite dull brunette finally ended her recap of her last holiday in -wait for it- New Jersey. Damon seriously had to get out of here. His only problem was that Claire seemed to be having the time of her life with that stupid blonde guy at the bar.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" he interrupted the girl, whose eyes grew wide before she nodded shyly. That was easy. He would only take her around the next corner and then feed on her. At least that much was in for him. They got up and he gently directed her towards the door. He looked at the bar to check that Claire was seeing them, but her guy had just placed a giant hand on her cheek, and so her sight was blocked. "Wait a sec, I have to tell the bartender something before I leave," he told the girl and took off. He knew the John, the bartender quite well, and they always got along fine.

"Hey, buddy, when Stefan drops by later could you tell him not to expect me at home tonight? Looks like I caught a really nice fish," he bragged extra loud, so that she would hear it, too. When he turned around after giving the right amount of smug grins and winks to the bartender, Claire was blocking his was. He grinned maliciously. It had worked.

"You are sure as hell not gonna drain that innocent girl. Go home, get some blood bags and leave her alone!" she growled furiously. He decided to play the unaffected one, as she was obviously quite angry at him.

"Oh, but Jessica and I were having so much fun! Just imagine, she has a really nice collection of stamps that she would just love to show to me," he said sarcastically. Her eyes widened and he could see the fury inside of her.

"Alright, that's it! We're going!" she said and grabbed her purse from the counter. She shot an apologetically look towards her boy toy and kissed him on the cheek while whispering "Another time, honey!" He looked at her sadly, and at Damon furiously, but there was nothing he could do. She had put a spell on him, so that he could not move. The last thing she needed was more drama. Claire turned around to take care of the girl, when Damon grabbed her hand and pulled her back. His expression had gone from mocking to earnest.

"Why do you think I want to sort this out?" he growled at her.

"Because it was your fault. You started it, remember?" she growled back. They were staring at each other.

"And you slept with the Earl," he stated calmly. She didn't flinch.

"Because I was bloody hurt. What was your reason for screwing around?" she countered.

"You," was the only thing he said. He himself didn't know what that meant exactly, but all he knew was that this woman was driving him crazy. Their relationship was everything else but healthy.

She took a step back and had to catch her breath after his reply. He didn't offer any more explanation, so she did what she could do best – she fled. Within a few seconds, she was outside and fumbling with her keys to get into her car. Just before she got in, strong hands whirled her around and pressed her violently against the door.

"You are doing this all to me! One moment, you're treating me like I was a god, the next like I was your butler! Hell, in bed we do things I didn't even know before, but then you act like all we exchanged was an introduction! What is your fucking problem?" he almost shouted at her.

Claire took a deep breath. There it was. She had to tell him. Damn it! She checked his face. He looked hurt. Very hurt. And it was all her fault.

"Damon, I... I'm sorry, it's just... I have a bit of an issue with vampires," she explained.

"Yes, I know, we bite, we're strong and all that stuff, but you are a witch, god damn it! You can handle this!" he snarled and shook her now.

"It's not that... Damon, the first man I ever loved, the first one I trusted – he was a vampire. And he tried to kill me," she finally confessed. He looked at her in surprise.

"But you said you've never loved someone!" he confronted her with what she had said at their little drinking game.

"I was lying. It was just... it hurt, okay? I was young and naïve, and he sort of broke me. Actually, I came here to finally get my revenge," she said.

"What do you mean?" his voice finally became more softly.

She looked at him, pleadingly. Tears were running down her cheeks, only speaking about it was so damn painful. She tried to pull herself together and tell him the last part, the one that would change everything.

Claire opened her mouth and whispered her response with a thin voice.

"It was Klaus."

* * *

**Please review!**


	22. The Truth

**FINALLY! I already finished this chapter yesterday, and I was so eager to upload it, but it didn't work! I'm so glad it's up now. **

**Thank you so much for your reviews of the last chapter! I was hoping to get reactions like this and you didn't disappoint :) I hope you'll enjoy this one as well (even though it's less dramatic, of course)**

**Please review!**

* * *

Damon stared at Claire in disbelief. Her whole body was shaking and tears were silently running down her cheeks. She looked at him, pleadingly. He felt like he was frozen, unable to move. That was the last thing he had expected.

"C-C-Could you... Hu-Hu-Hug me?" she stuttered, still shaken by emotions.

Damon was yanked out of his trance and pulled her to him. He immediately heard her heartbeat slow down. It felt good for him, too. He wanted to ask her what the fuck she meant by all this, but for once, he understood that this was something she would need time with. And he had thought her cold-hearted and bitchy when the only thing that was wrong with her was that she got her heart broken by a malicious beast. One more thing they had in common… After what felt like a little eternity, she freed herself eventually.

"Can we go to your place? I'd like to explain..."

"Get in the car, I'm driving," he said bossy, trying to cheer her up. It had little effect. She tossed him the keys and entered at the passenger's side. He started the engine and they drove off. When they arrived at the Boarding House, she quickly hurried inside. In the living room, Claire grabbed herself a blanket, wrapped it around her still a bit shaky body and poured herself some clear liquid from the bar. Damon stood in the door, watching. Damn it, she was messed up. Finally, she sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"There's something else you don't know. The reason why I met Klaus in the first place," she started.

Damon strolled over to the couch and sat down opposite her. "Spill it."

"The Originals have, over the course of the centuries, from time to time tried to kill the pristine families. Every 100 years or so, they would spy around, determine the weakest member and try to kill it. Of course, we fought back. But sometimes they were successful. And seeing as our families grow smaller naturally, this was always a bit of a setback. So, when I was still a child, only 12, they decided that they were gonna try their luck on me. They sent Björn, one of the strongest Originals," she paused to take a sip of her drink. Lines of worry had appeared on her face and her eyes were clouded by the memory of that dark day. Damon could see that it took her a lot to of self-control to tell this story.

"I can not say that I was properly prepared, but my blood saved me," she continued. "They call me 'la dualiste' which means 'the dual one', because I have the Blackheart and the Mortemart blood in my veins. Therefore, I was much stronger than a normal 12-year-old witch, even for an Original one. I killed him with a lot of effort."

"So you really have killed an Original before...," Damon interrupted, more muttering to himself than talking to her.

"Of course, I said so myself. I would never lie about such a thing," she ensured him. Some of the colour had returned to her cheeks and her eyes seemed a bit less sad, but he feared that it was not fully over.

"Did you know that Klaus had brothers?" she asked. He only shook his head slightly. "One of them is lying in your basement and the other one was Björn."

"Elijah is Klaus' brother?" Damon asked in disbelief. "But he was willing to help us kill him!"

"They were not exactly on good terms, you should know. Anyways, Klaus wanted revenge. And he planned it carefully. When I was 17, I spent the summer at my mother's family in France. It so happened that one day I met this vampire. I was always very mature for my age, and we started an affair. Even though he was my mortal enemy, he was everything I could have ever asked for - passionate, interesting, educated and entertaining. Of course, I didn't tell my family about him, we kept it a secret. I was going through a rebellious phase at that time, and I felt so badass dating a vampire and falling in love with him. I trusted him blindly. One day, I let him drink my blood. You know what that means," she said while shooting a sidewards glance towards him.

"You cannot harm him," he stated.

"Exactly. The next day – we were engaged in passionate sex – he tried to kill me. Luckily for me, my family had become suspicious of my frequent disappearances and had someone track me. He intervened, but of course, Klaus killed him in an instant. That instant bought me some time, though. Precious time. What he did not know was that my mother had performed a very powerful spell on her and me when I was an infant. Every time I was in mortal danger, she would feel it. I was so lucky that she was with me in France, so she rushed to my help. When Klaus saw her, he immediately fled. She was concerned about me, lying bleeding on the bed, so she did not follow him. I survived, but I was devastated," she ended her tale. Tears had re-appeared in the corner of her eyes while she was staring into her glass. She dreaded looking at him.

Damon closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. "And you really loved him?"

"Yes. You should know he knew everything about me. It was all part of his plan. He enchanted me with his charm and good looks. Every topic we discussed, we always agreed on the same things. We liked the same artists, authors and music. And we really worked in bed. I never thought myself capable of loving someone before I met him, but after two months, I was all his. From that moment on, I have promised myself never to love a man ever again. I don't wanna be hurt like that again."

"I get it," Damon softly said. "And I'm sorry I hurt you." She didn't give him an answer; she only snuggled against his body and rested her cheek on his chest.

"That's why I knew what was going on here. I came to finally get my revenge. And I will not stop until he's dead," she whispered sternly.

"And I will do anything to help you," Damon said and kissed the top of her head.

"There is one more thing," she sighed exhausted.

"Please don't tell me that he got you pregnant and you had his child," Damon groaned.

"No, nothing like that. But he did drink my blood. Theoretically, I should not be able to harm him," she said gravely.

"Theoretically?"

"That's the thing. I think I have found a way around. But I need to test it," she said and straightened up to look him in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked surprised while she started to unbutton her shirt. She opened the first few buttons, pulled aside the collar and exposed her neck.

"I want you to drink my blood."

* * *

Elena sat on her bed, arms folded, pulling off a more than angry face. Stefan looked at her, concerned. She had not said a thing since she got home with Claire and stormed into the house.

"Elena, if you want to talk about this…" he started off once more. And again, she shook her head. He could tell that she was furious and she needed someone to talk to, but it could not be him. Unfortunately, all of her female friends were unavailable. He had tried Bonnie and Caroline, but only reached Tyler, who told him that Caroline was sleeping like a baby after battling Claire for the majority of the afternoon. He sighed and decided to make her a hot cocoa. Maybe this would help. In the kitchen, he found Katherine. He moaned at the sight of her.

"I already have one grumpy look-alike to deal with, so spare me the immense trouble of having to deal with your wicked little mind, Katherine," he stated while getting the milk.

"Believe it or not, I'm here to help," she said, smiling.

"You want to help? Then get out!" he snapped. She only eyed him amused and walked over to him.

"I know she's upset and needs someone to talk to. Let it be me," she suggested.

"And why on earth do you think she would talk to you? How do you even know?" he asked her surprised.

"I was just taking a stroll when I saw her storm out of that witch's car. I can imagine why she's upset, and, believe it or not, I can relate," she purred.

Stefan eyed her suspiciously. He did not at all like the fact that Katherine seemed to know everyone's business, but if she would get Elena talking… "Don't kill her," he finally said while handing her to cup of cocoa.

She shot the hot beverage a disgusting look, but turned around to go upstairs. When she passed the mini bar in the living room, she poured a shot of rum into the cup and, grinning satisfied, made her way upstairs. Stefan leaned against the kitchen counter and considered listening in on them. But Katherine could hear him, so he decided to take off and try to keep Damon out of trouble.

* * *

Elena looked up when she heard a knock on the door. Why would Stefan knock? But instead of her boyfriend, she saw Katherine standing in the door.

"Can I come in?" she asked friendly. Elena shrugged her shoulders. She wouldn't talk to Katherine either. The vampire sat down at her bed and handed her the cup. "Your caring boyfriend made this for you. I spiked it a bit, now it's really yummy."

Elena took the hot cocoa and smelled the alcohol instantly. "Whatever," she thought and took a big sip. She felt it burn down her throat, but it felt oddly good. Katherine looked at her, some sort of sympathetic expression on her face. She probably knew what had happened.

"Alright, Elena. I do get that you're so freaking angry, that you don't wanna talk about it with me, but right now, I'm the best you can get, so shoot," she encouraged her. Elena only stared out of the window. "Okay, so if you don't wanna talk, just nod," the vampire continued. Now, Elena turned around to look at her. What was she playing at?

"Are you upset that Claire clearly has a better sex life than you?" Katherine asked first. Elena looked irritated and shook her head in wild refusal. The other her smirked. "Does it bother you that Damon screwed someone else than Claire?" Again, she only shook her head. Katherine's smirk got bigger and bigger. This was fun. "Okay, I know: you're furious because Damon was fucking Claire!" she finished off.

"Are you crazy? Of course not! Damon can do whatever he wants to!" Elena finally broke her silence.

Katherine grinned satisfied. "You know, Elena, denial is not only a river which runs in Egypt."

"You are so full of yourself! I am not in love with Damon! I'm only angry because Claire comes here and messes everything up! All this drama… it's not like we don't have bigger problems on our hands! Why can we not, just for once, focus on what's really important?" she almost screamed now.

"And what would that be? Saving your life? Or pleasing you?" Katherine teased.

"Saving all of us! Not only me!" Elena snapped back.

"You're right. But admit it: you're still not fully over the fact that Damon is making an attempt to be happy," Katherine said calmly. Elena looked at her in despise. She had a point there, but she would never admit it. "Let me try to phrase that for you: you can to some extend accept that he is with Claire now, but the fact that your best friend keeps on breaking his heart and pride pisses you off big time. After all, you would never do something like that to him."

"You're damn right I wouldn't!" Elena quickly answered. Her wall had broken. "He deserves someone who believes in him, not a girl who has the biggest issues herself!"

Katherine looked satisfied. She had cracked her. "Then you know what you have to do," she said seductively. Elena looked at her quizzically. "Tell Damon the same thing, he will listen to you."

"You mean like – break them up?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Damon stared at Claire's exposed neck. He could see her vein pulsating and it took all his self-control not to lunge at her. "What's your plan?" he asked with a deep voice.

"You drink my blood, and then I drink yours. It should reverse the ban," she said calmly. Damon's eyes grew large. To drink someone's blood was normal, but the exchange of blood… was something utterly intimate. He got up and offered her his hand.

"Not like this," he said.

She looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?" As an answer, he swirled her up into his arms and carried her upstairs where, in an instant, she lay on his bed. His eyes were sparkling with lust, and she finally realised that he was aroused by what they were about to do. She arched her back to get rid of her jeans. She wanted to feel him, too. Besides, Claire was convinced that it would get rather messy with two people drinking each other's blood. He cupped her face tenderly. Slowly, his hand trailed down her collar bone and stroked her vein. Claire was breathing faster now. The last time she had someone drink from her was with Klaus. Panic rushed over her. "But this is not Klaus, it is Damon," she reminded herself. She was save with him. He pulled her shirt over her head so that she was only wearing her underwear. Slowly, he bent down and kissed the soft skin on her neck. She moaned with pleasure. His fangs clicked. He tenderly scratched her skin with the edge of them. Her necklace got into his way, and he wanted to pull it off when it burned his skin.

"What the… vervain?" he asked confused.

"No, but a protective spell. Let me," she laughed and pulled the heart pendant off. He had never noticed her removing it at their previous encounters, but it would also be impossible for him to bite her while she was still wearing it. After she had put it aside, he continued caressing her neck. Claire closed her eyes in pleasure. She could do this for days. It felt so damn good. He stopped and locked eyes with her. Once again, the ice blue and the emerald green met and melted. All drama was forgotten. It was in these tiny little moments when they knew that they were meant for each other. She stroked to back of his head and nodded softly. "Do it," she whispered and watched his eyes undergo the transformation. He bent down and she felt a familiar sting… Claire closed her eyes and let out a deep moan. It always hurt at first, but after that, the sensation was unbelievable…

Damon had to try more than hard to stop eventually. Her blood tasted even more delicious than he thought it would, and it took a lot of effort not to drain her. He pulled back and checked her face. She looked calm. Slowly, he brought his wrist to his mouth and ripped it open. He offered it to her and she took it immediately. He sat up and pulled her close while she was drinking. He leaned against his bedpost and looked down at her lying in his lap. A few drops of her own blood dropped on her gorgeous chest and ran down her belly. She was sucking passionately and Damon enjoyed it immensely. He was as hard as steel. Overwhelmed with lust, he bent his head down and sunk his teeth into her neck once again. When her blood hit his tongue, it was like an explosion of sensations. He could feel her more than ever before. All her pain, her strength, her hope… He could smell the salt of the sea, the scent of the cornflowers that she loved so much and he felt the fresh sea-wind rush through him. Finally, he felt like he could bear all this emotions inside of him. Like he could be human again. Because he had Claire. Never again would he let her go. Never.


	23. Bloodstream

**Bonjour! I am so, so terribly sorry that it took me so long to update, but my week was crazy! So, here's my newest one, it is quite - unexpected, actually. I didn't intend on writing another twist, but somehow my stories have lifes of their own and pay no particular interest in what I (as a sane person) am thinking. so, I hope you'll like it and I'd loooooove to get your feedback! **

**PS: don't forget to check out Naishu's 'Drink Carefully' where Claire now officially has saved the day ;)**

* * *

Claire was woken up by the sound of melancholic piano music. She squinted in the bright sun that was hitting the bed she had fallen asleep in and got up slowly. Damon was standing at the open window, his back facing her. Soft beats joined the piano and Claire walked over to her lover. She embraced him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.

_Wake up  
Look me in the eyes again  
I need to feel your hand upon my face_

He took her hands and pulled her closer while letting out a satisfied sigh. "I'm sorry I slept with that girl," he said.

"And I'm sorry I slept with James," she said back.

_Words can relay nice  
They can cut you open  
And then the silence surrounds you and haunts you_

"We're crappy at this, huh?" he said playfully.

"What's 'this'?" she asked.

He turned around and softly cupped her face in his hands. Tenderly, he looked at her. Oh, she was so beautiful! Wearing only an old shirt of him, hair still messy from sleep. There was nowhere he'd rather be right now. "A relationship. OUR relationship," he said earnestly and waited for her reaction. She looked dazzled for a moment, but then gave him a blissful smile. His heart skipped a beat. She was truly his. He bent down and kissed her dearly.

_I think I might__'__ve inhaled you  
I could feel you behind my eyes  
You've gotten into my bloodstream  
I could feel you floating in me_

Claire's heart felt like it were exploding. She was happy. Truly, madly, deeply happy. When he pulled back, a single tear ran down her cheek. He shot her a quizzical look. With a hoarse voice she said "Tear of joy, darling. You've grown on me."

* * *

With a loud laugh, he pulled her up and threw her on the bed where they lost themselves in one another once again...

Stefan sat on his bed with his diary in hand and smiled satisfied. He knew perfectly well that it was not nice to listen in on his brother's intimate conversations, but now he knew that everything was fine.

Dear Diary,

I think Damon and Claire finally figured it out. When I came home yesterday, I was alerted because I smelled blood, but I quickly discovered that she was willingly giving it to him. I just hope that there won't be any problems with the Earl anymore. Looks like Claire got his hopes up yesterday, so he'll probably try harder from now on. I have to remind Claire to tell Katherine that she should take care of him.

Speaking of Katherine – she surprised me immensely yesterday. And I mean that in a good way. Elena was really devastated after Claire told her that she had slept with the Earl, and refused to talk to me. At her house, Katherine offered to talk to her and because I had run out of ideas and patience, I agreed to it. Elena sent me a text a few minutes ago saying that she was sorry about her reaction and that she had calmed down. I just hope it was really her who sent the text and not Katherine. Maybe there's still some humanity left in her.

I have to say that right now, I am more concerned about Elena's behaviour than hers. I still can't fully figure out why she reacted that strong yesterday. Of course, she is concerned about her friend's well-being, but somehow, I think that it was not Claire who she was anxious about, but Damon. Why else would she be angry at her and not at him? He started sleeping with someone else, Claire only reacted the way she did because she was hurt. Is it possible that my girlfriend has a problem with Damon being with someone else? Now that he has finally given up chasing after her, has she become the hunter? Maybe it is a good idea to keep an eye on her... for now.

* * *

"Hey Bonnie, how are you doing today?" Elena cheerfully asked her friend on the phone. She was still at home, standing in front of her window.

"Hey, Elena, thanks, I'm alright again. Nothing sleep couldn't fix. What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check if you're okay and ask when you're gonna continue your training?"

"I haven't talked to Claire yet, but I hope as soon as possible. We're really running out of time. I don't think it's not gonna be long now until Klaus shows up," her friend answered anxiously.

"You're absolutely right with that! You should call her and tell her that. Maybe you could even practice today?" Elena suggested.

"Good idea! Are you coming with us again?" Bonnie asked.

"No, not this time. I should spend some more time with Jenna, I have neglected her a bit lately," Elena lied. The truth was, she needed to talk to Damon. Alone. So it only fit her purpose when Claire was occupied by Bonnie.

"I understand. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Yeah, have fun!" Elena said and hung up. She turned around and faced Katherine, who was standing on the opposite side of the room.

"Perfect. Now, let's give them an hour or so before we go to the Boarding House. In the meantime, I'm gonna pay a little visit to our favourite aristocrat in town," Katherine said with a malicious grin on her face. Taking Claire down would be so easy now that Elena was her little henchman. Too bad she would become collateral damage in the process. But she would do anything to get Stefan back. Anything.

* * *

"Alright... yeah... take care!" Caroline cheerfully said and hung up. "That was Bonnie. She just talked to Claire, they're going to do some training again today, but Damon volunteered to play the enemy, so looks like I have a day off," she said to Tyler, who was lazily resting on her bed, still half asleep. She jumped on her bed and started shaking him. "Tyler... wake up! You told your mum you'll have lunch with her and it's 11:30 already!"

"I don't wanna go... wanna sleep..." he grunted in response. Caroline smiled mischievously and before he even knew what was happening to him, she had carried him into the shower and put on ice-cold water. What she didn't take into account was his werewolf-strength, so he just grabbed on to her and pulled her into the shower with him.

"Fuck, this is cold! Tyler, let me go!" she squeaked. He grinned from one ear to the other.

"Payback's a bitch," he answered and held on to her more tightly to stop her from escaping. Caroline managed to reach the tap and switch to warm water. She relaxed immediately as the warmth hit her.

"I actually wanted to take a shower," she chimed. Laughing, Tyler turned her around and looked at her. She was simply beautiful. Without knowing what he did, he bent his head down and kissed her. He withdrew immediately after realizing that he had just kissed his best friend. Again. But before he could explain or apologise, Caroline's lips were on his and she was kissing him back passionately.

"Finally," was the thought that went through both their heads.

* * *

James was whistling a happy melody while slipping into his finest suit. He was on his way to Ms. Gilbert's house to take Claire out for lunch. After their encounter in the car the previous day, his mind had been racing on how to fully win her over, and he had decided on taking it slow.

"You look dashing, my Lord," a sexy voice purred from the window. Alerted, he turned around to see Elena sitting there. He was confused about his fiancee's friend. He did not know how she did it exactly, but she could convince him to anything. Literally, anything. Besides, it seemed that she was leading a double-life. Every time he met her in company, she was sweet and shy, but when she was with him, she was... well, everything but that.

"Ms Gilbert. Although I appreciate your visit, I have to excuse myself. I was just on my way to my fiancee," he said friendly.

"Oh, I'm afraid you might have missed her. She is away on an important matter today. But I can assure you that she will be back in the evening. I have actually come here to talk to you about her," she spoke and strolled through the room towards him.

"And what would that be?" he asked and backed away a bit. She was scary at times.

"As you might have guessed, Claire and Damon had a little fight yesterday."

He nodded "I actually... took care of the matter," he answered, not without a self-appreciating tone in his voice.

"And I am glad you have done so, but let me tell you one thing: they have gone through worse in the short time they have been together. I do not know this for sure, but they have probably reconciled by now." He shot her a pissed look. "Here's the thing: I do not believe that Claire would be happy with Damon, and I only want what's best for her. Unfortunately, he has something that you lack of, my Lord."

"And what would that be?" he asked curiously.

"Fangs," she said coldly and grabbed him harshly. He struggled against her, but she covered his mouth with one of her hands. "Which is why I'm gonna give you this..." she mused and ripped her wrist open to press it against his mouth. He sucked in quite a great amount of her blood. "And then, there's only one thing left for you to do, my Lord," she closed her little soliloquy and smiled at the confused man. A horrible crack could be heard and his body dropped to the ground. Dead.


	24. Give Me More

**well, there you go: next one :) I tried to keep the drama down a bit this time. I hope you'll like it nevertheless.**

**and thanks a lot for your reviews! I can not tell you how good it feels getting positive feedback! you guys rock!**

* * *

"Again, Bonnie! And Damon, I swear to god, if you hurt her, I'll be cutting your balls off with a pair of nail scissors!" Claire yelled through the woods. After teaching Bonnie a few defensive spells, she wanted to see how fast she could apply them, so she let Damon attack her. Unfortunately, Bonnie let her feelings rule over her mind, and she was not fast enough to fight the vampire. He stopped every time he was about to rip her throat open. Claire watched another fruitless try and when Bonnie was on her back once more, Damon towering over her, she decided that it was time to step in.

"Enough! Goddamnit, Bonnie! You totally let your feelings take over your instincts. Get a grip, I'll show you how!" she said while walking over to them. She pulled on exhausted Bonnie off the ground and helped her sit down at the edge of the clearing. Then she walked over to Damon.

"You're not saying very nice things to me, today, darling," he teased her.

"As if you're not into dirty talk," she teased back. He gave her a smug grin.

"You know me too well." They grinned at each other for a short moment before Claire's face became more serious.

"This is the moment of truth, Damon. I want you to attack me, and if I can fight you off, the blood exchange worked," she said.

"I've almost forgotten about that... Let's do this! Ready?" he said and stepped away a few steps. Claire took a deep breath and straightened up. She really hoped that it would work. Otherwise, they would have to think of another solution.

"Okay. Bring it!" she said. Damon did not need more encouragement; he was speeding towards her in a flash. Claire's heart was racing, and for a moment, she thought he would kill her. But when she thought of the right spell and made a majestic hand movement, Damon stopped in mid-air, frozen. Another quick movement and he was soaring through the air, landing in a tree. Claire started cheering. Bonnie looked at her, surprised.

"What's to cheer about?" the other witch asked. Claire looked at her, confused. But of course! She did not know the whole story…

"Uhm… there's actually something you should know, Bonnie," Claire started hesitantly. She startled a bit when Damon suddenly landed next to her, brushing off leaves from his clothes. He smiled and punched her shoulder in a matey way.

"Good one, Blackheart," he winked. She grinned back.

"Claire? What is it?" Bonnie asked a bit annoyed. Their constant flirting was making her sick.

"Right, sorry! The reason why I was so happy just now is that Damon and I did a little experiment and it worked," Claire started off when Damon cut across her.

"We made a bet that she would need at least more than a minute to overpower me, and I lost. End of story, everybody's happy," he said curtly and wrapped his arm around Claire's shoulders. She looked at him, puzzled.

"I nearly just threw up in my mouth. You guys are annoyingly emetic. Excuse while I go barf behind that tree," Bonnie said weakly and hauled herself over to a tree at the end of the clearing. Claire yanked Damon's arm off her shoulders and looked at him furiously.

"What was that? Why can I not tell her?" she hissed.

"Because I think no one should know. This is fragile baggage, Claire, and around here, secrets don't stay secrets for very long," he explained.

"But Bonnie's a witch, Damon! That means we're like sisters! She has the right to know!" Claire argued. Damon looked at her, concerned.

"I know. Maybe you could wait before you tell her? I really don't want this piece of information in the wrong hands. Just imagine how fast news could travel that you're trying to help us. Klaus will come here even faster and then we'll be absolutely defenceless."

Claire sighed, defeated. "You're right. But I am telling her! I'll just wait until it can't be avoided anymore..."

"Good girl," Damon said and kissed the top of her head.

"There's one more thing, though," she said.

"Oh, how I hate it when you say that…" Damon mumbled in her hair. She smelled so sweet.

"We need to tell Stefan."

Damon looked at her, confused. "Why?

"Well, I suppose it would be more than impossible to get Klaus' blood without him knowing. So we need to take my little experiment even further. See if it also works on siblings," she explained.

"Wait… do you mean you want Stefan to drink your blood?" Damon asked in disbelief. Only the thought of someone else drinking form her, hurting her, made him cringe.

"Yes. He'll drink my blood and I'll drink yours again. If I can defend myself against him, that means that a sibling's blood will also work," she said plainly while watching Bonnie bend over and puking behind the tree. "Oh, looks like poor Bonnie's overestimated her strength..." she said, pitying the other witch.

"Wait, hold on! We have a problem," Damon interfered.

"No, she'll be okay. I barfed my guts out when I was 9, learning all this stuff from my father," Claire said cheerfully.

"Forget about Bonnie, I mean Stefan! He's a bit problematic when it comes to human blood," Damon explained. Claire looked at him alerted, cringing her forehead.

"What do you mean?"

"The last time he drank from someone – someone being Elena, by the way – he went completely ballistic. Trust me, you don't want to know the details, but let me tell you: it was not pretty."

"But it's our only chance! We have Klaus' brother, ergo we have the blood. If it works, this is our ticket out of this hell!" she argued.

Damon's eyes widened in shock and he was staring at her like she was completely bonkers. "Don't tell me you want to wake up Elijah?"

"Actually, yes, I want to. That means, if it works. Which is we Stefan's got to pull himself together and keep himself in check for once. Goddamnit, you guys are such a handful!" she said angrily and marched over to Bonnie, who was lying on the ground, half unconscious. She lifted her up and Damon could the sergeant-like motivation speech she was giving her.

"You know what, Bonnie? Vomiting is okay, but lying on the ground like a defenceless Victorian virgin afterwards? No way! You puke, you wipe your mouth and you're back in the fight! Do you think Klaus will be interested if you'll suddenly get sick? He won't! He'll kill you no matter what comes out of your mouth the moment he does! So get up, pull yourself together and fight! Try 'protego ira murus' again! Come on!" she commanded and pulled Bonnie back on her feet.

Damon watched the two of them and shook his head in despair. That woman would be the death of them all.

* * *

Elena parked her car in front of the boarding house and got out. Nothing indicated that anyone was at home, but then, it never looked like it was inhabited. Carefully, she opened the front door and walked into the living room.

"Elena? What are you doing here?" Stefan suddenly appeared from behind her. He was holding a bunch of vervain in his glove-covered hand.

"Damn it!" Elena thought silently. She had hoped he would be out and about. "I was just… looking for Damon, actually," she decided to tell the truth.

"What do you want him for?" Stefan asked a bit suspicious. He didn't trust Elena when it came to Damon, especially not since Claire was around.

"I wanted to apologize. I haven't been very friendly to him lately."

"Well, he's with Claire and Bonnie in the woods, they're continuing the training today," he said, still a bit carefully.

"Oh… then I'll just talk to him later. You wanna come to the Grill with me? I could use some food," Elena quickly distracted him. He agreed and they walked to her car while she was still vexed about the whole scene. Her plan had gone wrong. Damn it, where was Katherine when you needed her?

* * *

Katherine flickered lazily through an old magazine she had found under the couch of the foreclosed house she had chosen as a hideout. It was not very big, full of dusty furniture, but it served her cause. She looked up from the paper when she heard a painful moan. The figure lying in the middle of the room on a dust-covered carpet was slowly stirring. Katherine stood up and walked over to what once was a man. She kicked him with her heels, so that he would turn around to lay on his back.

"Where am I? What happened?" he grunted full of pain.

"You're with me, my Lord. And, to say it bluntly: you're dead," she snapped.

"Wait... what?" he asked, confused.

"Dead. You know, like not alive. Pushing up daisies. One with Jesus and that crap."

"But... I am not! I just feel... a bit off colour." Katherine laughed full-heartedly.

"You Brits sure know how to understate something. Here, drink this," she said and threw a blood bag at him. He shot it a disgusting look and turned away from her. "God, I thought you would be more obliging," she sighed and was on him in a moment, shoving the blood down his throat. At first, he tried to resist, but it actually tasted good. After a few minutes, he was greedily sucking in every last drop. When he was done, he wiped his face and stared at his blood-covered hand in disbelief. Slowly, he looked up and his eyes met Katherine's.

"I want more."

* * *

**I know, I know - it's short. But my life's crazy right now, and I'll promise to do a big one over the weekend. there's a lot of stuff I have to take care of anyway. AND: if you liked it (or not), please review!**


	25. Stay Strong

**I am so, so sorry that it took me this long to update! thing is, a family member died and it's been a rough week. But I do hope you'll like this chapter. And please, review! it's been a while since I got more than a few, and it would just help so much if I would get your feedback and know if you actually like the direction into which it's going or not. thanks in advance and enjoy!**

* * *

"Bonnie looked really miserable," Damon stated while he and Claire were driving to the Grill after dropping Bonnie off.

"She'll get over it," Claire answered curtly. She was still a bit pissed at him.

"Alright, I understand: you're pissed off cause Stefan and I are sooo problematic and nothing goes the way you want it to go, but let me tell you something: this is life! It's what happens when you have a plan: everything goes the other way."

"Don't even try and give me a pep-talk. I wanna talk to Stefan; know what he thinks. Trust me, I'll know his limits," she said.

"Let's hope you'll know them before crossing them," Damon sighed exhausted and parked his car in front of the restaurant. They went inside to see Elena and Stefan sitting in a booth. Claire friendly greeted Matt, who was waiting tables and they made their way to the other couple. When Elena saw the two of them approaching, she immediately tensed up and a stern look appeared on her face. Stefan noticed and cringed his forehead. Something was not right.

"Hey guys, mind if we join you?" Claire asked when they reached the table.

"Actually, we were just leaving. Right, Stefan?" Elena said very snappy.

"Oh, boy. Someone's pissed," Damon commented and earned an angry look from her. Claire sat down next to Elena, who was just about to stand up.

"Why are you still so mad at me? We worked it out, Lana, everything's fine again!" she said pleadingly, using the nickname only she had used when they were children.

"It's not just this, okay? I just… I need some space," Elena said quite cold.

"Come on, let me drive you home. We haven't talked in a while," Damon interfered, taking Elena's hand and dragging her towards the entrance. Stefan looked confused at a sad Claire.

"What's going on? Is she that mad cause you screwed the Earl?" he asked.

"I dunno. I think it's also something else," she sighed and looked really devastated. She had an idea what it could be, but that was something she would not discuss with Stefan. "Listen, Stefan, we need to talk, and it's very important," she quickly changed the subject.

"What's wrong?" he asked, alerted.

"First, I'm gonna tell you a story, and then I'm gonna ask you a favour. But I'd rather we'd discuss this in private," she said. He looked surprised and worried.

"Wanna go to the Boarding House?" he asked.

"That would be great," she said and smiled weakly. It had been a long day and the worst part was still ahead of her. But there was no other alternative.

* * *

"Damon, we need to talk," Elena started off as soon as they were in his car. That was the opportunity she had been waiting for, now she need not screw it up.

"I'm all ears," he said, relaxed as always.

"It's about Claire. I don't think she's good for you," Elena said. He shot her a surprised look.

"And why would that be?"

"Because she's constantly pushing you, and it's driving you mad. How often have you gone out of your mind since you met her, huh? She's not long-term material, Damon, and – to say it bluntly – you deserve better."

"And who would I deserve, Elena? You? Andy? Rose? I don't think so. I appreciate your concern, but there's more to us than you can see. And why can you not be happy for your best friend?" he asked a bit angrily. Elena seemed a bit off, almost like… Katherine!

"She's not my best friend, and you know that all I want is to live a harmonic life, and that does not include you two pulling off major drama every time one of you screws up!"

He stopped the car in front of Elena's house and eyed her suspiciously. If he did not know better, he would say that Katherine was behind this. Nasty, manipulative Katherine. "Enough, Elena. You had your chance and you didn't take it. As I've told you in Deville, I won't be waiting for you any longer. Accept it," he said softly. To his surprise, the stern look on her face disappeared and she slumped down in the car seat, looking miserable.

"I know, Damon, I do. And I don't wanna be a second Katherine, but it's just… I can't help it! I care about you," she said tenderly.

"This is her doing, isn't it?" he asked a bit aggravated.

"Yes. I let her get to me. I'm so sorry, Damon. I know I shouldn't put you in this position, but with everything that's going on… I feel so helpless. And maybe I thought that your happiness is something I could take care of," she confessed. Damon was really touched. He had never expected to hear such words from her, especially not after their fight in Deville. He opened his safety belt and leaned over to pull her into a tight hug. She hugged him back immediately. For a few minutes, they enjoyed each other's company and forgot the rest of the world.

"I'll always be happy as long as you're around," he mumbled in her hair. She smiled blissfully. What would she do without him? They broke apart and he softly stroked a strain of her hair from her cheek. She looked into his eyes. Oh, how she loved those eyes… Slowly, she brought her face nearer to his.

"One last thing, Damon," she whispered. He shot her a questioning look. "I need to know something. Something important," her voice was hoarse from excitement. Without further explaining, she closed the distance between the two of them and put her lips on his mouth. Softly, she was pressing against his until they opened and let her in. She could feel his hands on her back, pulling her closer while their tongues engaged in a passionate dance. She closed her eyes and let herself go. It was the most beautiful feeling she had ever had. At first, their kiss was soft and tender, but it slowly became more passionate and wild. Suddenly, he pushed her away from him.

"Damn it!" he cursed and looked at her, confused. "We shouldn't have done this."

Elena leaned back in her seat and brushed her fingers through her hair. She did intend on breaking them up, but not because she necessarily wanted to do this with Damon. But now, that she had kissed him – kissed him like that – there was no going back. It was the real thing. Stefan had never kissed her like that before. She felt her cheeks blush. What now?

"Do not tell her," Elena finally said. He shot her a quizzical look. "This was… a mistake, yes, but we needed to do this to finally let go. Now there's nothing keeping us together anymore," she lied.

"Excuse me, but were you present during this kiss? It was definitely not something I could 'let go'. Oh, fuck!" he cursed again.

"You're right, but it doesn't mean that we're gonna ruin everything. We need time now; time to figure this out. Let's just not see each other for a while," she concluded. He nodded his head. "No word to anyone, alright?" she questioned. Again, he only nodded. Elena saw that there was nothing more that she could say or do, so she got out of the car and walked into her house and up to her room. She let herself fall on the bed and listened to the sound of Damon's car driving off into the night.

What had she done?

* * *

"Wow, I didn't see that one coming," Stefan let out a deep sigh after Claire had told him about her past with Klaus.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you straight from the beginning. Good news is, I have a plan," she said.

"What sort of plan? Is there any way to reverse the blockage?"

"Maybe. This is why I need you. But you're not gonna like it," she concluded.

He raised one eyebrow and looked at her, a bit skeptical. "What do you want?"

She walked over to where he was standing in the living room of the Boarding House, put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes "I want you to drink my blood."

He stood completely still, but she could see the surprise in his eyes. "You… what?" he stumbled.

"Damon drank my blood, and I drank his, and the blockage was removed. And because it is impossible for us to get our hands on Klaus' blood, we need to find another way round. Luckily for us, we have his brother. So, before we wake Elijah up, we need to know if it works on brothers," she calmly explained.

Stefan let himself drop on the couch. He did not know whether to be angry or shocked. "What makes you think Elijah would want to cooperate after everything we've done to him?" he asked. He was also surprised to learn that they were brothers, but he would trust her with that one.

"I have my dirt on him, trust me. Besides, on the contrary to Klaus, Elijah has a good heart. I can get to him," she said while pouring herself some Vodka.

"Wow. I am… well, I'm not sure what to say," he admitted.

"You say: awesome, Claire! Good plan, I'm sure Elijah will be wax in your hands and I promise to not act like a former blood-addict when drinking from you," she said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"So you know?" he asked.

"Damon warned me. He's against it, as you can imagine."

"Of course he is. Hell, even I have to say that it's not the best idea," he said.

She sat down on the couch next to him and took his hands. "Stefan, I know that this must be more than hard for you, but it is our only chance. I can train Bonnie a lot, but I can not train her to beat Klaus all by herself. You need me, and I need you. Please, promise me that you'll try your best to keep yourself in check! Do it for Elena; it is her only chance as well," she pleaded.

"Why can we not ask your father to do it? Or one of the other families?" he suddenly asked.

"Because Klaus is the oldest and strongest of them all. And right now, I am the strongest witch you can get, considering the fact that I have two of three families' blood running through my veins. Besides, we can only kill an Original if they have ever harmed us in any way. Klaus has not attacked any other pristine witch but me. Trust me, it's our only shot," she said sadly.

"Alright…" he slowly said while giving her an unsure look. "If it's our only chance, it doesn't leave me a choice."

She squeezed his arm in an encouraging way. "Be strong, Stefan. I believe in you."

He gave her a weak smile, thankful for her support. "When shall we do it?"

"As soon as Damon's here," she answered.

"Enter 'guy who saves the day'," they heard a mocking voice coming from the door, where Damon was leaning against a bookshelf. Neither one of them had noticed his presence. Slowly, he strolled towards them and pulled Claire close to him. He gave her a small smile and looked at Stefan. "I'm not a fan of this, brother, so pull yourself together." Stefan nodded sternly.

Claire took at her cell phone and started flickering through her address book. "I'm gonna call Caroline, we need another vampire, just in case."

"Just in case what?" Stefan asked, confused. Claire had already turned around and chatted to her friend.

"In case you lose it," his brother answered. Stefan wanted to talk back at him, but he knew that he was probably right. He must stay strong. Just this once. For Elena.

* * *

**And never forget: life's short, so treasure it and the people who love you.**


	26. The Experiment

**hey guys, once again: sorry for the delay, but don't worry, it's not a writer's block, it's just what usually happens when you have other plans - LIFE. I think it's slowly coming to an end now, I finally figured out what to use James for, and I'm really excited to go to the dark places I have in my head for him - muhahaha! anyways, I don't wanna frighten you, just tease you a bit ;) I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Katherine looked at the Earl lazily while resting on the pompous sofa of the finest foreclosure in town. He was just licking the last drops of blood off the beautiful blonde they had found in the woods. She like him before, but now that he was a vampire, she adored him. He acted with a decadence that was almost too much to handle and seemed to have lost all his 'good' qualities. The previous night, he had even been rough to her, which ended in them spending a passionate night together, but she did not regret it at all. It had been 5 days since she had changed him, and it was slowly time to get on with her plan.

"I think we should pay a visit to Claire," she suggested. He dropped the dead body and rose steadily. Slowly, he wiped the blood from his mouth and gazed at her with his piercing eyes.

"What for?" he asked a bit angry.

"Well, don't you remember what we've talked about? You actually want to be with her. And she can make you walk in daylight, honey. Is that not what you want?" she teased. He let out a displeased snort and walked over to her, avoiding the patches of sunlight falling through the huge windows. He then bowed over her and started kissing her neck.

"I want so much. Right now, I want you," he said and pulled her off the couch in one swift movement. He carried her to the only bedroom, hands on her bottom and hair, kissing her passionately. Katherine let out a deep moan while giving in to him. Maybe they could wait just one more day...

* * *

"No fucking way!" Caroline screamed at Claire and Stefan, who had just told her about their plan.

"Told ya," Damon commented drily from behind her.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you had human blood? I was there, Stefan, alright? I'm not gonna let this happen again!" she said furiously.

"Caroline, please, calm down! He promised to keep himself under control," Claire hastily said before her friend could stop screaming again.

"Control is a word the blood-drinking Stefan doesn't know. Right, Damon?"

"Probably the only time I'll say it, but: you're right."

"Can we all calm down, please? This is not a big deal. I promised to restrain myself and I will do so. It's for Elena, and I won't let anything happen to her again," Stefan finally said. He was getting tired of all this arguing.

"Caroline, please. Help us with this one," Claire said pleadingly.

"You're out of your minds. No way!" she said and stormed towards the door, just to freeze after only a few steps. Damon and Stefan immediately looked at Claire, who had her hand extended.

"We're not asking for your permission, Car. This is a request. And you're gonna accept it," she said sternly. She dropped her hand and the female vampire could move again. She turned around and looked at Claire, anger in her eyes.

"You'll have to force me to," she said and stormed off. Claire looked at her, disappointment written all over her face.

"What now?" Stefan asked. She turned around to face him. After exchanging a long look, she took a deep breath and answered.

"I trust you, Stefan. We're gonna do it without her. And we're gonna do it now."

"Are you serious? What if..." Damon started off, but Claire cut across him.

"You can do this, Stefan," she said and locked eyes with the younger Salvatore brother.

"Alright," he said after what seemed like an eternity looking into Claire's eyes. She believed in him, and for once in his life, he did as well. She nodded encouragingly.

"Okay, so here's how it's gonna work. Wait, let my check first..." she said and looked at Stefan, who immediately felt like a block of ice, unable to move. A small smile appeared on her face. "Good. Now, you're gonna drink from me. Not much, only a few drops should suffice. Then, I want you to attack me. But please be careful, I won't be able to defend myself."

"Then why should he attack you?" Damon interfered.

"Because we have to be absolutely sure. You can keep him in check, if he overreacts. After that, I'm gonna drink Damon's blood. And then, we will see if my plan works," she sighed a bit at the last sentence and started unbuttoning her leather jacket. Claire dropped it on the couch and walked over to Stefan, stopping right in front of him. She put one hand at his cheek and stroked it softly. "I know you don't like me very much, but please don't drain me," she said, half a smile on her lips. Both Damon and Stefan had to laugh. Claire smiled a bit as well, but her mimic became dead serious after. She swallowed and turned around to check if Damon was ready. He looked very uncomfortable, but she knew that he would not stop her from doing this little experiment. He nodded and she faced Stefan again. "Let's do this," she whispered and bent her head to the side.

Stefan stared at her neck in amazement. She smelled so sweet, and he knew that once he tasted her blood, it would be hard to stop. But he had to! For Elena. Slowly, he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him. He could hear Damon snort with disapproval in the background. But Stefan didn't care. He had never bitten someone without touching another part of their body as well. It made him feel more individual, not just like every other bloodsucker. He could feel her tense up and he knew that he had to do something to make her relax. Hesitantly, he approached her neck with his mouth, but before he reached her skin, he whispered softly into her ear.

"Don't be afraid, trust me," he said and planted a soft kiss on the sensitive skin on her neck. Claire was totally taken by surprise at his actions, and so she didn't really realise that he had already sunken his teeth into her skin the next moment. Only when something wet flowed down her cleavage did she notice that he was already sucking her blood.

"That's enough, little brother. I think you should stop now," Damon suddenly said close to Claire. She could feel Stefan stop sucking, and for one moment, she thought that he would just abandon their plan and continue drinking from her, but he withdrew his fangs from her skin. She touched the wound and looked at him, astonished. Damon wrapped his arm around her.

"You okay?" he asked concerned. She shot him a confused look.

"Yes, I am fine," she stuttered while looking at Stefan, who just wiped the last drops of her blood from his mouth. The dark veins around his eyes had vanished and he looked almost normal again.

"Alright, what are you waiting for?" Damon said, looking at Stefan. He checked with Claire and when she slightly nodded, he darted towards her and grabbed her body. She let out a surprised scream and found herself lying on the couch the next second, Stefan on top of her. He had stopped only a few inches away from her throat, and she could clearly hear him grunt while trying his best not to bite her again. The next moment, he was being pulled away and she could hear Damon scream at him. "Touch her like this ever again and I will kill you for real this time, Stefan!" Claire rose up and shook her head in confusion. What did he mean? She looked down on herself and saw that her shirt had been torn and pulled up to her breasts. She rearranged it and got up slowly. Bloody hell! She walked over to the fighting brothers and pushed them from each other slowly.

"Damon, calm down, please. No harm done. Now, if you may?" she asked him. He turned his head from Stefan to her and raised a brow.

"What?"

"Your blood?"

"Right. Sorry," he said and rolled up his sleeve. He bit his wrist and offered it to her. Willingly, she gulped down some of the red liquid and let go of his hand. She immediately felt the blood run through her veins.

"Thanks," she said to Damon and faced Stefan. Without any hesitation, he lunged at her only to stop in mid-air. Claire, who had her hand extended, dropped it and started cheering. Damon pulled her into a hug and smiled happily. Stefan, who had dropped to the ground, got up and grinned as well. Claire let go of Damon and hugged him as well. "It worked! Bloody hell, it worked!" she cheered again and again.

"Time to celebrate," Damon announced and swayed a bottle of their finest Scotch in one hand. Claire grinned happily and fetched three glasses. This was the best news in a very, very, very long time.

* * *

Elena had just brushed her teeth and was ready to go to bed when her phone rang. Caroline's number appeared on the display. She hadn't talked to her friend for a few days, so Elena picked up quickly.

"Hey, Car, what's up?"

"Elena, how can you let them do this? It's insane! Stefan will be back to sucking people dry in dark alleys in no time! I thought you would know better!" her friend ambushed her.

"Woah, woah, Caroline, slow down! What are you talking about?" Elena asked confused.

"Wait... you don't know? Claire is gonna let Stefan drink her blood! They asked me to help, but I refused!"

"WHAT?" Elena almost screamed.

"It's some sort of experiment, they didn't tell me the whole story, but it's got something to do with Klaus."

"Where are they now?" Elena asked hurriedly while putting on her jeans and jacket.

"I got home from the Boarding House about half an hour ago, they were gonna do it there. But, Elena..." Caroline could not finish her sentence because Elena hung up on her. She hurried out of the house and jumped into her car to race to the Boarding House. Stopping the car in front of the house a few minutes later, she took a deep breath before she got out. Light was softly falling through the living room windows and Elena approached them cautiously. She wanted to get a look on what was going on first before storming in like a jealous maniac. Maybe, it was all half as bad as Caroline said. She stood on the tip of her toes to peek into the room inside. Elena had to fight the urge to scream. What she saw was even worse than she had expected!

She had chosen the exact moment when Stefan lunged at Claire and threw her on the couch to take in the scenery. Elena could clearly make out the biting wounds on Claire's neck and her torn shirt. She watched with anger as her friend got up and separated the two brothers, who were obviously arguing about something. She turned away from the window and walked to her car slowly. Clearly, they went through with their plan. Elena did not know what hurt more: the fact that they did not tell her about this, or what she just saw – a passionate Stefan lunging himself at her friend with a hunger in his eyes that she did not know of. When she heard cheers, she faced the windows again. Whatever they had been planning, it must have worked. Disappointed, she turned to get into her car, but found her way blocked. Scared, she looked up at the person standing in her way.

"James?" she asked in confusion.

"Hello, Miss Elena. I'm afraid I'll have to occupy some of your time. Now, if you may?" he said with a charming voice before putting one hand on her mouth and dragging her away with him. And while Damon, Stefan and Claire were celebrating inside, the terrible scream that escaped Elena's lunges was not heard by anyone.

* * *

**As always: review and you're my hero.**

**and, before I forget: special thanks to grungie, who made remembered me that I really don't like elena that much right now. and also naishu - for always encouraging me and sharing my beliefs when it comes to fanfiction. you're awesome.**


	27. Where's Elena?

**I know, I know - I said I'd update sooner, and I didn't - I suck big-time. But I have good news: I'm home for the whole weekend, and my boyfriend stayed at our flat, so I have a lot of time. Hopefully, I'll be able to write some chapters, especially as (and you will see it in this chapter) things are starting to get serious. I hope you'll enjoy it!**

* * *

Claire awoke when a ray of sunlight hit her eyes. It took her a moment to recognise her surroundings. Why was she lying on the floor of the Salvatore's living room? She felt something heavy on her hips and turned to the other side to see Damon lying next to her, fast asleep. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist, whereas the other was still holding a Scotch bottle. Now Claire remembered. Their little celebration got a bit out of control. As if on cue, her headache set in. She grunted while pushing Damon's arm away and standing up. Claire felt like she had been run over by a truck. Unsteadily, she strolled into the kitchen and opened the freezer. The cold felt so good and she sat down right in front of it.

"You're not trying to freeze yourself, are you?" a voice asked from behind her. Normally, Claire would have spun around in no time to face the intruder, but 'fast' was a completely foreign concept when you were having a hangover.

"I'm just trying to make the pain go away," she sighed. Moments later, Stefan sat down beside her.

"Here, take this," he said and handed her a glass of water and a white pill. Without hesitation, she gulped down the pill and sipped some water afterwards. She looked at him and saw a slightly different Stefan than before last night. Some of the concern that was constantly covering his face was gone, there was some mischief displayed on it now. Once again, Claire asked herself if it had been the right decision to let him drink her blood.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm great. On the contrary to you," he said laughingly. Claire grunted and let her head drop on her knees. She was too old to get that wasted. He put one arm around her shoulders and hugged her encouragingly.

"It will go away eventually. Now, have you talked to Elena yet?" he asked.

"I just got up, I haven't talked to her since last night. Why?"

"I went by her house earlier, but she was not there. Bonnie knows of nothing and I did not reach Caroline," he explained.

"Do you want to tell her about what we did?" Claire asked, a slight panic accompanying her voice. Elena would not be too happy to hear that her boyfriend drank her friend's blood.

"At one point or the other, we will have to. But I'm really concerned about her right now. Could you do a locating spell?"

"Maybe you should talk to Caroline first. I'd rather not do magic in my condition. Your carpets aren't that ugly that vomit would not ruin them," she suggested. Stefan laughed slightly and got up. He kissed the top of her head and left the room to visit Caroline. When Claire had first arrived, he did not like her very much, but things had changed since then. The fact that she believed in him when not even he himself did meant a lot to him. He was glad she was there.

"Stay hydrated," he yelled from the door while Claire had to fight very hard not to throw up instantly. Stupid alcohol.

* * *

Sheriff Forbs was just about to leave for work when she ran into Stefan Salvatore in front of her house.

"Oh, good morning, Stefan! Can I help you?" she asked friendly.

"Morning, Sheriff, I was hoping to speak to Caroline, is she up yet?"

"She spent the night at Elena's, you'll probably find her there."

"Oh, right. Thanks!" he said confused and turned around to walk to his car.

"Stefan, wait! Is Damon home? He's not answering his cell," the Sheriff asked him.

"He's home, but probably still asleep. Did something happen?" he asked, concerned now. When Liz wanted to talk to Damon, it usually involved vampires.

"Oh, no nothing serious. Someone went missing, and I thought I saw him talk to her a few nights ago, but maybe I'm mixing things up. Anyway, have a nice day!" she said while getting into her car. The situation was actually more severe than she had admitted, but she did not trust Stefan as much as Damon.

Stefan watched in confusion as she drove away. What the fuck was going on? He got out his cell and tried calling Caroline again. Luckily, she answered this time.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the newest member of the 'I drink human blood'-club," she greeted him with disdain in her voice.

"Everything is fine, Caroline. Yes, I drank Claire's blood, but I don't want to go drain every human now. I am fine, trust me," he said annoyed. He was lying a bit, it really was a hard task to not give in to his cravings, but he was under control. For now.

"And you're not lying to me?" she asked, some of the hostility gone.

"No, Caroline. I'm not. Now, where are you? And is Elena with you?" he asked eagerly.

"Uhm... I'm home. And no, she's not with me," Caroline said uncomfortable.

"I am at your home, and you're definitely not here. So tell me the truth, Caroline!" Stefan could hear someone else whispering in the background. Whatever was going on, it was strange as hell.

"Okay, okay, but don't tell anyone, alright? I spent the night at Tyler's."

"So, you two are a couple now?" Stefan asked, surprised. He did not expect that.

"Sort of. But please, please, please, don't tell the others, okay? Now, what's going on with Elena? I thought she stopped by your house yesterday night?"

"No, Damon dropped her off at home before we called you. Nobody seems to have seen her since..."

"Uh-Oh."

"What, Caroline?"

"I'm so sorry Stefan, I really am, but I was upset and scared and I didn't think clearly...," she started off. Stefan's alarm bells were ringing. "I called her and told her about your plan. She was going to drive to the Boarding House instantly."

"Oh, no. We didn't tell her about the plan. She must have seen us and freaked out. But where could she have gone?"

"Have you seen her car so far?"

"No, but that's a good idea. I'm gonna go look for it. Can you help?" he asked in a hurry.

"Sure, whatever it takes. I'm so sorry, Stefan."

"Don't worry. Take Tyler and go to the Boarding House. Try to revive Damon and get Claire to sober up. We need them. Search for her everywhere after," he gave her the instructions.

"What happened to them?" Caroline asked in surprise.

"Scotch. Now, hurry!" he said and hung up. He was panicking. Somehow, he knew that something must have happened to Elena. Where was she?

* * *

Elena was not sure if she was conscious or not, everything around her was black. Her head hurt like hell, and she could faintly remember getting it hit with something. When she tried to move, she found out that her hands and feet were bound and that she was lying on a wet ground. The last thing she could remember before blacking out was seeing the Earl. What was going on here? She did not understand it, she had thought him harmless. But somehow, he had looked different… More dangerous and vile. Suddenly, a door to her right opened with a loud bang and let some light into the room. Elena could now see that she was lying in some sort of cellar. A tall figure was standing in the doorframe, slowly approaching her. She could not see his face, but he seemed familiar. The man lifted her up effortless, even though Elena was pulling up a fight.

"Please, Miss Gilbert, if you would be so kind and stop this? I do not necessarily want to hit your pretty head again," the Earl said. Elena stopped wriggling and gave in. she was too weak anyways. He carried her through a dark corridor into another windowless room. She could make out two people sitting on a desk before she was being thrown on a bed. Every muscle of her body hurt like hell. She groaned in pain.

"Well, well, look he's not so protected after all," a familiar female voice came from the table. Katherine. Of course she was involved in this plan. Elena would have spat on her if she would have been in reach. She turned around and faced the rest of the room. A man sat next to Katherine, an amused expression on his face and a dangerous spark in his eyes. James stood next to her.

"What's going on?" Elena angrily asked. Katherine grinned at her and gestured to the stranger.

"Elena, I want you to meet Klaus."

* * *

**Remember: reviews are very powerful, not only do they make me feel more appreciated, but also you will always be remembered for writing them ;)**


	28. Everything's gonna be fine

**I'm baaaaaack! To all of you who thought this story died: it didn't, and it's back stronger than ever! I had a really hard time at University, taking my final exams and everything, but after I passed all of them - yeah for me - i'm back to writing. So, here's what's gonna happen. the story will (hopefully) finish in 3 or 4 more chapters, and then I'm off writing a new one. I'm not sure whether it'll be VD or TB, but we'll see. Until then - enjoy!**

* * *

Claire was still sitting in front of the freezer when she heard Damon grunting in the living room. Looks like he was waking up. She leaned her forehead against the door and tried to blend out the piercing headache as well as this strange sense of suspicion towards him. He was acting a bit weird, like he was hiding something, and she had the faint idea that it had something to do with Elena. Last night, during their celebration, he had been awfully forced. Whenever she tried to find a quiet moment to talk to him, he immediately found something else to do, like talk to Stefan or swirl her around and make her dance. Claire got up and went into the living room. He was still lying on the floor, although his eyes were open now.

"It's good to see I'm not the only one with a hangover," she commented drily.

"Why are you screaming at me?" he groaned. Claire had to laugh involuntarily. Unfortunately, she underestimated her state, so that when she was bending over from laughter, she got sick almost immediately. While she was scurrying to the bathroom, she could hear him shout "Serves you right!" after her.

* * *

Stefan was hurrying through the woods in a flash. His heart was racing, flowed with panic and anxiety. What if something had happened to Elena? What if she had done something stupid after seeing him celebrate with Claire and Damon? They should have told her about their plan. But he was so afraid that she would not get it this time. To be honest, he would have understood it. She had trusted him the last time he drank human blood, and that backfired badly. He stopped quickly when he saw something black glistening in the sun to his right. It was a car, and coming closer, he immediately recognised it as Elena's black SUV. It was deserted, and he yanked open the door even though it was locked. No one (or body) was inside, but he could make out a strange smell. Someone other than Elena had driven this car, a vampire, if he was right. He cursed while pulling out his cell phone to ring Damon. He picked up after what must have been an eternity.

"Hello, little brother, already up chasing bunnies and squirrels?" he greeted him weakly. So Caroline was not there yet.

"Damon, Elena's gone, and I just found her car. I think vampires took her," he explained hastily. Damon was alerted and awake within seconds.

"Where did you find it?"

"In the woods about 5 miles form Mystic Falls. There's a strange sense to it," Stefan answered. "Caroline will be at the house shortly, I'll be back as well, in the meantime, talk to Claire and ask her to do a locating spell," he instructed and hang up. He got in the car, hotwired it and drove back to the boarding house as if the devil was right at his heels.

* * *

After he had hung up, Damon forced himself to get up from the floor, swearing loudly while doing so. He could hear Claire barf in the bathroom and he was near doing so as well, even though it had been about 170 years since he last done it. He turned around when he heard a loud bang followed by Caroline storming in through the front door.

"Good, you're up! Someone took Elena; we have to do a locating spell. Where's Claire?" she shouted at him.

"I know, I know, Stefan just called, he found her car. Apparently, someone else drove it. Claire's in the bathroom, but now may not be the best time to go in," he answered and watched as Caroline headed towards the puking witch. He caught a strange smell and turned around just to see the Teen Wolf standing at the door. "What are you doing here? You're her new sidekick now?"

"No, Stefan told her to take me with her. Don't think I'm here because I want to. By the way: you look like hell," he countered. Damon only snorted in his direction and made his way to the basement to get a blood bag. He had to be up to his game, and nothing would do the trick better than some blood.

'Eeeew," Claire turned away from the toilet just to see Caroline standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still a bit pissed at her for not cooperating.

"Elena's gone, we need you to locate her. What did you do?"

"For fuck's sake!" Claire sweared. "Again? Oh, god, why do these things always have to happen when I'm having a hangover?" she managed to say quickly before she felt the familiar sense of sickness coming up again. "Oh, no…" she said before leaning over the toilet seat again. Why is it not stopping? What did Damon do? Why was Elena gone? Who took her? All those questions were running through her head as fast as last night's Scotch was through her mouth. She seriously had to stop drinking when having been drunk of before. She could've used that extra blood that Stefan took from her last night. She felt Caroline's cool hand on her back, stroking her softly.

"Let it out honey, it will go away eventually," she said softly while massaging her shoulders. Claire could have barfed again, this time not from the Scotch, but from Caroline's compassion. Oh, how she hated such feelings… they were for the weak, not for strong personalities. She got up slowly and walked over to the sink to wash her mouth. She took an unused toothbrush out of the cabinet and started brushing.

"Tell me everything," she said to the vampire, who chatted away immediately and told her how she left yesterday and called Elena, how she fled into Tyler's arms, the shock when Stefan called and how sorry she was (that one she mentioned about a hundred times).

"So we came here straight away. Can you please locate her now?" Caroline finished off.

"Alright, I'll get my stuff, meet me in the living room," Claire sighed and went into the library to get her equipment. She had stored it there straight from the beginning, having heard from Elena that the Boarding House usually served as headquarters for their little missions. She returned to the living room where Caroline was impatiently pacing up and down, whereas Tyler and Damon were exchanging insults. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and walked over to the two men.

"Nice to see you again, Tyler," she said while hugging him shortly. Damon growled slightly. "Oh, get a grip. You might as well work together, we're on the same team here," she snarled at him. He shot her a deadly look, which she paid no attention to whatsoever. While she put her things on the table, they heard a car outside. Shortly after the engines died, Stefan stormed in.

"Anything new?" he almost shouted.

"I was just about to do the spell," Claire answered calmly. The blood was obviously making him act very impulsively. She focused on the map, but something else came to her attention before she did the spell. "Caroline, call Bonnie and Jeremy. We might need them!" she instructed before turning back to her things. Caroline only nodded and stepped outside. Claire was kneeling in front of the table now and closed her eyes to concentrate. Someone stepped next to her.

"Don't you need something that belongs to Elena?" Damon whispered. Claire sighed annoyed and grabbed his hand and, holding her heart necklace over the map, started chanting incantations. The pendant moved immediately and dropped on the map about 30 miles from Mystic Falls.

"But that's only a deserted quarry!" Stefan, who had leaned over her shoulder, exclaimed.

"Is it?" she asked back. His forehead cringed. Caroline returned from her call.

"They'll be here immediately. What's wrong?" her tone changed when she saw the serious look on Stefan's face.

"She's at a quarry about 30 miles from here," Claire answered.

"Well, then why don't we go and get her?" Caroline asked naively.

"Because we don't know who is keeping her or why he's holding her. We need a plan first," Damon said. Claire looked at him and nodded.

"You're right. If only I could…" she started off while looking at the map again when a sudden flash hit her. She felt like being sucked in by a big hole, everything around her disappeared and she was lying on a soft satin bed, something heavy on top of her, someone with a strange, shrill laugh. The vision was over as soon as it had begun and Claire found herself on the floor, puffing and panting.

"What happened?" Caroline's shrill voice asked right behind Damon, who was holding Claire.

"Klaus…" Claire muttered "Klaus has Elena," she said faintly and saw all their faces turn in shock. This was not good.

* * *

"What do you want from me?" Elena asked, panic in her voice. She was still sitting on the sleazy old bed the Earl had thrown her on, and Klaus was towering over her. She tried to free herself, but the bonds around her hands and feet were too tight. He kneeled down in front of her, amusement on his face.

"I think you know exactly what I want, little Miss Doppelganger. A shame, really. I heard there are two vampires who've grown very attached to you," he sweet-talked and stroked her cheek. His fingers were as cold as ice and Elena jerked back a bit. His expression suddenly changed from amused to stone-cold. "Well, they will get over it," he got up and walked back to Katherine, stopping next to her. "Shut her up until we have the wolf. If you mess up, I'm gonna rip your pretty little head off, understood?" he growled. Fear and panic were written over Katherine's face, but she managed to keep calm and nod shortly before Klaus left the room. Elena immediately started throwing questions at her.

"How could you? What about 'I'm as afraid of him as you are, we have to work together on this one'?" she shouted at her look-alike.

"Oh, shut up, will you? I saw a chance and I took it. Nothing personal, you understand?" Katherine explained.

"Oh, and you really think he will spare you just for bringing him the doppelganger?" Elena countered.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I gave him something else that he needed," Katherine mused, looking like a textbook femme fatale with the dangerous glint in her eyes, the sexy outfit and the toy of her choice right next to her. Elena's eyes widened. She also brought Klaus a vampire! James! She wanted to shout at him, tell him that Katherine was only using him, but then she restrained herself. What she needed was to talk to him alone. Maybe then she could convince him to free her. She breathed heavily. Luckily for her, she knew that the next full moon would not be for another 5 days, and Claire told her that the ritual could only be done by full moon. Since then, Elena had paid extra attention to the state of the moon and had been extra cautious when it was full. Now she could use that knowledge to her advantage. If they didn't find her first, her little plan was the only chance she had to get out of there alive…

* * *

Claire sat silently on the floor while Damon, Stefan and Bonnie were arguing over how to save Elena. The other witch had arrived about 10 minutes ago, and after being told what had happened, a heated discussion arose. Every few seconds, she shot a pleading glance at Claire, who was sitting on the floor as if petrified. Bonnie needed her support, but no reaction came from her whatsoever. Their voiced grew louder and louder, and when the discussion reached its peak, they were literally shouting at each other. Damon wanted to head off straight away, Stefan wanted to sneak up on them, and Bonnie was convinced that spellwork would get Elena out of this mess. They were getting nowhere, when Claire finally got up and walked into their midst. Everybody was silent in a flash, even though she had not said a word. Her whole body language was terrifying; she looked as mighty as an old sorceress.

"The time has come. He will be able to help," she said with a deep voice and headed towards the basement.

"What is she doing?" Bonnie asked confused. Stefan and Damon looked terribly frightened.

"Elijah. She's gonna wake up Elijah," Stefan finally managed to say.

"What? No way! He'll kill us all!" Bonnie screamed and headed after Claire, just to run into what seemed like an invisible wall. Claire, who had reached the top of the stairs, stopped and turned around.

"Don't try to stop me, it is our only chance," she said gravely and continued downstairs. Bonnie and the others looked after her in disbelief.

"That's it. We're officially dead," Jeremy muttered. Nobody disagreed.

* * *

**So, as a little 'I'm sorry'-gift, this chapter's a bit longer than the other ones, I hope you liked it! And I know that at this point, I always try to motivate you to give me reviews, but can I just for once say that you guys ROCK? I can hardly believe that there are still people who are adding this story to their favourites and story alerts-lists! Even after all these months! That's truly awesome! It feels great and I appreciate it a lot!**


	29. The Return

**Well... hello again! For the thousand time, I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, life has been more than crazy around here, but I'm glad to say: I'm back ;) This chapter gave me a bit of a hard time, I hope you'll like it. we are now slowly coming to an end, and I can tell you - I'm happy about it and totally ready to 'move on' and write another story. But for now - ENJOY!**

* * *

Claire slowly approached the door to the small cell that often used as a prison for whoever lost control in the Salvatore house. She had been down here before, when Damon slept, to ensure that they didn't by any chance kill him for real. Elijah looked bad. They had obviously tried burning him, leaving his clothes torn and burnt and a thick layer of black dust all over his body. She entered the small room and knelt down beside him. A cold shiver ran down her spine when she looked at his face. The face she had seen before. After her mother had almost killed Klaus that night he drank Claire's blood, Elijah came to her family to offer peace. He and her father had a long talk, resulting in an agreement that would prevent them from killing each other. It had been 5 years ago, and only a few months ago, Elijah visited them again to break their little treaty. He wanted Klaus dead and asked them to help him. Claire's father, being the diplomat he always was, decided not to meddle. It was not after they had heard of Elena's involvement that they decided to step in. He would probably be happy to see her, but you could never tell with him. During his last visit, she spent some time alone with him, and she could easily remember the intensity with which he acted. Always serious, always business. Cold and deadly.

Claire sighed and grabbed her silver necklace. She whispered a few words to strengthen her natural defence and turned back to Elijah's body. She put her fingers around the dagger and pulled it out in one swift movement. She looked at him, waiting for the slightest movement. Suddenly, he shot up and out of the door like the wind. A loud bang indicated the moment he hit her invisible shield. She could hear the others gasp in the living room; they were probably watching the stairs.

"What have you done to me?" he shouted at them.

"They were fools", Claire said calmly. In another flash, he was standing next to her. She got up and looked at him. He looked shell-shocked and furious.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"To request for your help. I have found a way to undo the curse," Claire said.

"The blood curse?" he asked.

"Exactly. Will you help me?"

"Are you going to kill my brother?"

"Yes." He shot her a proofing look. Claire could tell that there was some negotiation to undergo before she could release him. She needed to make sure that he would not kill one of her friends. She locked eyes with the vampire who still looked like walking death. His face had regained its beauty, but his clothes were still torn and burnt. Nevertheless, he looked almost kingly. She had always admired his appearance, as well as his brother's. When they walked into a room, everybody's attention was immediately upon them. Delicacy. Authority. Danger.

"Very well. Let's talk, shall we?" he said and Claire returned from her thoughts.

"Damon, please be so kind and throw two chairs through the barrier," she said and heard a soft thud only moments later. Elijah had fetched them in another flash and they sat down to have their little discussion.

* * *

"Do you think he will kill her?" an anxious Caroline asked for about the fiftieth time since Claire went down into the basement. At first, she was able to hear what they said, but then the witch must have cast some kind of spell, because now there was only silence.

They were all still at the house, sitting on the couch or pacing the living room like a nervous Damon did. It was the first time they had seen him express real concern for someone other than Elena. Stefan was staring out of the window. Inside, he was almost burning. Not only did he feel utterly helpless, because they could not just go and get Elena back, but also because he craved blood. At first, it was alright, but now, the drive got stronger every minute. The curious thing about it all was that he would not have drained any human. He wanted Claire's blood, and he wanted it bad. It took all his strength to restrain himself earlier, and he felt horrible, because his thoughts should be circling around Elena and not her friend's blood.

They all turned around when they heard voices and watched Claire and Elijah return from the basement. She removed the invisible barrier almost unnoticeable and tension filled up the room when Elijah first met the pack who had killed him. All eyes were on the two of them.

"Elijah is willing to help us. He will forgive you for murdering him, but demands total obedience and cooperation," Claire started. She shot Damon a sharp look, knowing that he would not agree that easily. He dodged her gaze and walked to Elijah.

"Why should you help us? What is in it for you?" he asked suspiciously. Elijah looked at him calmly.

"I want my brother dead. He killed our entire family, and now it's time that he stops with all this madness."

"What exactly is 'this madness'?" Stefan suddenly asked, walking into their midst. "We know about the sun and moon curse, but why would he want something he already possesses? If all vampires could walk in the sun, what would make him special?"

Elijah grinned a bit mockingly before turning to Claire. "They still believe it's about walking in daylight?" he asked. She nodded.

"What's going on? What is it really for?" Damon asked angrily. If Claire had withheld information from him, she would pay.

"I was not going to tell you, because it makes things more complicated. Elena knows the truth, though. I had to tell her," she said, an apologising look on her face.

"If Klaus sacrifices a werewolf, a vampire and the doppelganger, he can be half vampire-half werewolf," Elijah interfered. He did not appreciate all that emotional gibberish. They looked at him in disbelief.

"But how is that possible?" Stefan asked breathless.

"He has werewolf blood from his mother's side," Claire answered for Elijah. "That's all you need to know so far, we need to hurry. Klaus needs the full moon to do the spell, and that is tomorrow. Damon, Stefan, train the others on how to fight vampires; Bonnie, we need to do the spell that transfers one of us to where he is to see what's going on, and Jeremy, you have to tell Alaric and ask him to bring by all of his weapons," she instructed and they hurried off into different directions. Bonnie, Damon and Elijah were the only ones left. Claire turned to Bonnie "Let's do the spell tomorrow morning, go home and get some rest. Have you finished my Grimoire?" The other witch nodded. "Good, bring it with you, we'll need it." Claire gave Bonnie a short hug and she disappeared. She turned to the two vampires and tried not to pay attention to the deadly look in Damon's eyes.

"Elijah, you are probably very hungry. I have some business to do with Damon, so in the meantime, you could feed. If you would just be so kind not to kill, the Sheriff is at our heels all the time," she suggested. The old vampire nodded appreciatively and disappeared swiftly.

"Why did you not tell me about the real reason behind Klaus' actions?" Damon asked as soon as Elijah was out of the door. Claire sighed and turned around.

"Because it would have only made things worse. You probably don't understand what Klaus wants to do as soon as he's Dracula the Teen Wolf."

"Oh, I don't? Well, let me have a guess to see if I'm really as dumb as you think I am," Damon snapped at her.

"I don't think you're dumb, Damon..." Claire tried to soothe him down, but he was unstoppable.

"If I were in his position, being half this, half that, I would probably, given his evil nature, try to gain power. Therefore, I would breed. I know that it's not possible for us, but for the Originals – perhaps. So, here's a wild guess: Klaus wants to create some sort of army to gain world dominance?"

"We believe these are his intentions," Claire said calmly.

"Fine. So, in the future: do not underestimate my wit, C-witch. Now, let's get to business," he said, an angry tone in his voice. He turned around to help Stefan with Caroline and Tyler.

"Not so fast, Mr Smartpants. I had my reasons not to tell you," Claire snapped.

"And what would they have been? That I am too 'unpredictable'?" he asked sarcastically.

"Exactly. Especially when it comes to Elena. Whether she dies for all vampires to walk in the sun or for one giant asshole to breed an army does not matter. You'd do everything for her. And don't think I don't now what you did when you drove her home," she tried to remain calm, but her voice wavered a bit. Damon stopped dead.

"You do? How?" he asked breathless.

"I felt her when I kissed you. Never underestimate my powers, Damon," she said and looked at him, sadly. "Why, Damon? Why am I not enough for you? Why do you want her so bad? It makes saving her so much harder, you know?" She looked at him, pleadingly. He broke her heart over and over again, and even though she had sworn to get through all the troubles that lay ahead of them, she feared that there would come a point where she just couldn't stand it anymore. Damon had a long close look at her, before he finally moved and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry I kissed her. It was just the magic of the moment. Maybe I can have closure now," he said. She nestled deeper against his shoulder. He felt really bad that he had hurt her again, but at the same time, he was relieved that she knew about the kiss. They broke their embrace and he softly stroked her face. No tears were on her cheeks, but he knew how hurt she must be. His strong little Amazon.

"Go now, I still have some things to discuss with Elijah," she said after a few seconds. He kissed her gently and left the room. Claire sighed and went to the mini bar to get some Scotch.

"I see you have developed feelings for a vampire again?" Elijah asked from the other end of the room. She had sensed his presence since a few minutes ago.

"Yes. But this time, I sincerely believe his intentions will not be killing me," she answered. Elijah chuckled silently and walked over to pour a glass of Scotch himself.

"You do know that I had no idea about what he was planning with you?" he asked her. Claire took a deep sip of the brown liquor and stared at the wall in front of her.

"Of course I do. You have told me that before. I thought you had a good memory?" she teased sarcastically. The left corner of his mouth twitched a bit.

"I do, but as I can recall, you were a bit… inebriated," he said with a dry grin. She looked at him, grinning as well. When he visited her family, she had not trusted him at all, before that one night when she accidentally get drunk and ended up bonding with him. But he was still one of the most unpredictable and not see-through people she knew. She shifted a bit uncomfortably and gazed out of the window. This was just the quiet phase before all hell broke lose and somehow, she already regretted meddling. But she would have never met Damon if she hadn't, so probably; it was the right thing to do.

"Your thoughts are trailing off," Elijah said and she snapped out of her brooding.

"I'm sorry. I'll stay focused now," she quickly responded. To her surprise, Elijah suddenly took her hand. His fingers felt cold, even colder than Damon's and even icier than Klaus'. She looked at him, surprised. His features had softened a bit, but there was still a cold and empty look on his face.

"Do not suppress your feelings. Let them guide you and strengthen your powers. I made the mistake of always being too composed and it didn't get me far. Everybody I ever loved is either gone or has turned into a beast and my brother is my worst enemy. I do not wish the same fate upon you."

Claire was shell-shocked. They shared a deep look and for the first time, she could see something else other than coldness in them. He had loved a long time ago, and the shadow of that memory was still there, buried deep behind his stony façade. She almost felt sorry for him, but before she could say anything, the moment was over and he had let go of her hand and drank from his glass as if nothing had happened.

"So, tell me about the spell," he instructed and she quickly pulled herself together and started explaining.

* * *

"Caroline! Always check if there's someone behind you, goddamnit!" Damon yelled at the girl while he watched her fight against Tyler and Stefan. She was good, but they were more thought-through. Caroline was acting too impulsively. "Stop!" he shouted after they had pinned her to the ground once more. "Let's take a break," he said disappointed after looking at a panting and sweaty Caroline on the ground. She was a vampire, for fuck's sake, why was she so affected by all this? He walked over to Stefan and they turned away from the couple. "Did you notice anything suspicious?" he asked his brother.

"Other than Caroline being a bit of an underachiever, no," Stefan returned. His brother looked at him intensely.

"I'm talking about Katherine! I haven't seen her around in days. Normally, she's always bugging at least one of us." Stefan looked alarmed now.

"You're right. I hadn't noticed," he said. He was struggling so hard not to kill anyone that he had not paid any attention to everything else. But that was definitely not good news.

"I think she's involved with Elena's disappearance," Damon said. It head become totally silent now. Of course Caroline and Tyler would listen in on them.

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow, then, right?" Stefan said. "There's not much we can do."

"Wrong, brother," Damon said, wriggling his eyebrows. "It's perfect. We suspected that he had at least two vampires with him, and that Katherine was one of them is the first good news in days." Stefan looked at him, puzzled. "We have seen her fight, Stefan! We know her dirty tricks! That is our great advantage!" Damon finally concluded.

"Now I get you," Stefan said, a bit of relief in his voice. He hadn't thought of that, now he saw that his brother was right. They could take advantage of that. "Let's continue!" he said and they got back to their training.

* * *

Elena woke up from a more than uncomfortable sleep and quickly saw that she and Klaus were the only ones in her cell. She felt feverish and turned her head to face the wall again. He was the last person she wanted to talk to. Why hadn't they come yet? It never took Stefan or Damon long to come to her rescue, and even though she had lost sense of time, she knew that it must have already been one or two days she was trapped here.

"I know you are awake, Miss Gilbert," Klaus chimed happily from the table where he was sitting. She heard a chair move and the bed shifted when he sat down next to her. Elena cringed when she felt his cold hand on her shoulder. In one swift movement, he had turned her around. Smiling demonic, he stroked down her cheek. "That's better. Let me look upon the face that has haunted me all those years a last time before it will be gone forever."

Elena's panic became worse with these words. She was terribly afraid of him, but she would not show it. Unfortunately, she had no such control over her body and so she started shaking.

"Oh, are you cold? Well, we would not want you to get sick, do we?" he said sweetly and got up. He walked over to a big trunk standing in one corner that Elena had not noticed before and opened it. Grabbing a blanket, he turned around and suddenly froze. His eyes were on high alert and Elena wondered if he had heard something. Were they here? Was her rescue troop on the way? Hope built up inside her and she straightened up to be ready when they stormed in. After a few more seconds, though, she felt that the danger was not coming from outside, otherwise Klaus would have already taken care of the situation. She was looking at him, still not moving. He looked somewhere between angry, happy and crazy. Slowly, he walked over to the bed and dropped the blanket on Elena without even looking. He turned away and faced one corner, slowly moving as if he were watching someone.

"I might not be able to kill you, but I can still feel your presence, ma chère," he suddenly said. "I always thought our reunion would be more... face to face; or in this case, flesh to flesh," he continued. Elena was confused. Who was he talking to? He had now followed the invisible whatever it was and was looking straight at her. "Trying to protect Miss Gilbert? Well, let's test your abilities, darling," he growled with an evil grin, and before Elena knew what was going on, he had his fingers around her throat, holding her a few inches above the ground. He was choking her badly and Elena was fighting very hard to get free of his grip. Just when she thought he would kill her, his fingers were gone and he was standing a few feet away from her, a look of surprise on his face. "Ah, I see. Not that strong, but still strong. Hmm. Well, well, well. I have no doubt you already know where we are, so why don't you stop being a coward and come here yourself, Claire?" he asked angrily. Now Elena understood. It must be some kind of spell. She opened her mouth to tell her to hurry, but Klaus had his hand placed over it in a flash. "She's gone, Miss Gilbert. But no doubt she will come back. In the meantime, why don't we two have a little fun?" he asked her and a demonic grin appeared on his face.

Claire's limp body suddenly shivered and a few moments later, she opened her eyes. Damon, Stefan and Bonnie were all watching anxiously. They had no idea of the spell had worked, if she had really seen Elena or Katherine. However, she looked very pissed and breathed heavily. She got up, straightened her clothes and started walking out of the room while saying, to no one in particular: "Oh, it is so on, you sick little bastard!"

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**Please review! So I'll know you are still there ;)**


	30. Challenge Accepted

**Alright, I know, waiting a whole month for an update really sucks, but I have been busy, as usual, and you will find that I have started to write another fanfic, an Inglorious Basterds one called 'Viennese Nights' - maybe you wanna check it out. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and I'm really determined to wind this whole story up in two to three more chapters now. For real, this time. That's all I have to say - thanks so much for reading and if you have anything to share, feel free to review! **

* * *

Elijah had witnessed the whole scene from under a tree in the Salvatore garden and was now watching a furious Claire stomping in his direction. Her hands were balled into fists and her normal, elegant stride had transformed into an angry march. She stopped in front of him, eyes glistening with fury and breast rising heavily. She sure was upset.

"I need your blood now. That bastard is in for the fight of his life," she said angrily.

"Calm down," he said while placing a hand on her shoulder. He could hear her heartbeat become slower and she released some of the tension in her muscles. "Take a deep breath," he instructed and she exhaled slowly. "That's better. Now, sit down, please," he continued and led her to the tree. They sat down in the green grass and she eyed him curiously. He picked a daisy and held it out to her. Her brows rose in surprise.

"Why are you giving me a flower?" she asked.

"Because it reminds me of you," he said simply and looked at her. Claire was confused. Something was off. She held his gaze, almost losing himself in his eyes, which suddenly did not seem black at all. As if in trance, she then shrugged and Elijah's eyes went back to normal.

"Ooookay. Thank you, Elijah. Now, please, give me your blood?" He looked at her for a few more seconds before gently rolling up his sleeve.

"I would give it to you in a glass, but I guess we are in a hurry?" he asked. Claire nodded and a slight smile appeared on his face. He brought his hand to his mouth and bit it open; then he offered it to her. Without hesitation, Claire sucked in a great amount of the red liquid and instantly felt it rushing through her body. Suddenly, it felt as if she were about to faint, and she reached for Elijah's arm so that she would not fall flat to the ground. He caught it and drew her close to him, preventing her from falling over. Claire closed her eyes for a second and saw flashes of pictures, as if she was seeing a movie in her head. Pieces of Elijah's life. At first there was joy and happiness, before everything went dark and became red thereafter. She saw a furious Elijah reeking havoc with his brother, blood all over his clothes and face. Later, a decadent lifestyle, drinking from willing victims and enjoying their wealth. Wild orgies with drained bodies and other beautiful vampires. Then she saw pain. Too much pain; her heart felt like it was about to burst. With a loud gasp, her eyes fell open and the warm summer sun welcomed her back in the present. She sucked in the fresh air and clinged to the arms holding her steady. She turned and looked into Elijah's face, and for the first time, she saw brilliant emerald eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek while she stared at him.

"So much pain," she whispered "how can you stand it?"

"The switch. It helps, but it does not make it go away," he said without any emotion. Before Claire could think properly, her instincts had gotten the best of her once again and she found herself hugging him tightly.

"I am so sorry," she said with a shaky voice while his hands embraced her body as well. She could feel his nose leaning into her neck and his touch felt soft and warm. After a few more seconds, they let go of each other and he looked normal again.

"Don't be sorry for me. I just need one thing from you," he said. Claire nodded. "Kill my brother, so I can have peace," he simply said.

"I will. I'm gonna kill that motherfucker and then we can both lead a normal life again," Claire answered and he smiled quickly. He believed she actually had a chance.

* * *

"Why is Claire hugging a serial killer vampire, slash potential basket case, slash brother of he who must not be named?" Caroline curiously asked her friends while looking out of the living room window.

"Elijah is Voldemort's brother?" Jeremy joked and stood next to her, earning an annoyed look.

"She drank his blood and now she can feel what he's feeling. It's probably really sad," Stefan explained.

"Sad, pathetic, I actually don't care. Just wish he would take his hands of her. Do you see the way he's looking at her?" Damon interfered from the back of the room, arms crossed, ready to explode. He did not like it when other guys touched his girl, and he especially didn't like it when it was Elijah.

"Scared she's gonna leave you for him? I definitely would; after all, he's like what – 500 times as strong as you are?" Tyler teased and Damon immediately attacked him. Stefan and Alaric had to break them up.

"Get a grip you two!" Stefan screamed after they had broken up. "You act like children! We have other things to concentrate on! Damn it!" Damon shot evil looks at Tyler.

"He started it, and I'm slowly getting ready to really kill him this time. Exactly like I killed his uncle," he shot at Tyler, who immediately started towards him again. Stefan held him back this time, though.

"Damon! Get out!" he screamed at his brother who merely chuckled slightly and strolled out of the room. He ran into Elijah and Claire in front of the entrance door.

"We're ready. Should we go now or wait until sundown?" she asked him.

"Don't know, why don't you ask precious Elijah here?" he gave back bitterly.

"Damon, behave. He hasn't harmed you in any way, no need to be unfriendly," she said with an authoritative tone in her voice that made him feel like a child who was being lectured about his behaviour.

"I believe we should observe the quarry from the distance and wait until they come out when it's dark," Elijah said without reacting to Damon's comment in any way.

"That's a good idea. Well then, let's get everybody ready," Claire said and started off in the direction of the house.

"Wait, there's a little problem," Damon held her back.

"What is it?" Claire asked concerned.

"Right now, half of Mystic Falls' in that living room. They'll all want to come when you announce it like that. But we don't need them all," Damon explained.

"I see," Claire sounded pensively. She then closed her eyes and started mumbling strange words. Moments later, Tyler and Jeremy stormed out of the house.

"Gotta go, have too much homework to do!" Jeremy shouted and ran towards his car.

"I absolutely hate you all and I'll never come back here!" Tyler shouted and drove off, too. Alaric, Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan stuck their heads out of the door.

"What just happened?" Stefan asked.

"We don't need them in the fight, so I cast a spell to make them remember something important, so that they won't insist on coming with us," Claire explained. Stefan smiled.

"You're a genius," he said. She smiled decently and made a little curtsey.

"I know. Now, we have plan. Ready?" she asked and they all nodded before going inside to hear Claire's plan.

* * *

"Well, Elena, how does it feel knowing that this is your last day on this earth?" Katherine teased her look-alike while she was sitting on the tiny table, manicuring Elena's fingers. She had gotten bored and forced her to let her do her nails, too. Waiting for the end to come can be so dull.

"They will come for me and kill you all," Elena spat. She was shaking badly since the incident this morning, but at least she knew that they were on their way.

"See, I would not necessarily count on that. After all, your little witch can't hurt Klaus; he had her blood, remember?"

"They'll find a way, they always do," Elena replied and Katherine's eyes became hard for a second.

"Wishful thinking. Hold still!" she had regained her continence quickly. Elena sighed and relaxed her hand. She did hope that they would come. Today was not a good day to die.

* * *

Claire was lying on the soft grass at the northern edge of the quarry. They had decided to set up their day camp there and observe what happened below them. So far, it had been uneventful, but now, a pick-up truck approached from the west. She nudged Damon who was lying on his back next to her and pointed at the truck. Immediately, they took out their binoculars and watched it. It crawled further and further down the steep road leading into the middle of the giant hole before it stopped right where it hit even ground again. Two men got out and walked to the trunk. They opened it and heaved out what must be a body covered in dirty sheets. Damon sniffled and wrote 'werewolf' on the sheet lying between them. Because of Klaus' supernatural hearing they had agreed on not talking while they were on their stake-out. A hidden door opened on the side of the quarry and the two men quickly threw their load inside before driving off again. Claire fetched the piece of paper and crawled a few meters from the edge before she came across the others. She showed them what Damon had written and they nodded gravely. Now Klaus had the werewolf, the vampire, probably a witch and the doppelganger.

A few hours later, just after the sun had set, 6 figures appeared from the door, two of them were being dragged along by the others. Claire and Damon watched in silence while a woman, obviously the witch, set up a fire in the middle of the quarry. Damon could hear Klaus talk to Elena; he played little psycho-games with her. Without trying to make a noise, they retreated to the others and Stefan, Damon and Claire made their way down the quarry. Their plan was for Bonnie and Alaric to stay hidden; they were ready to sacrifice themselves if necessary, but not them, too. Besides, Bonnie could do magic from that distance and Alaric had brought some wide-range vampire weapons to keep Katherine in check if necessary. Elijah had disappeared when they got here, saying he had a plan of his own, but he would come to their help when the time was right. Claire fully trusted him.

Klaus could hear three people approaching even before anyone else noticed them. He faced the small path they came down on and a demonic grin appeared on his face. Elena noticed his excitement and, being captured on his side by his right arm, she saw the three approaching as well. Her heart made a leap. They had come. Now Katherine, James and the witch named Cassie noticed them as well. They positioned themselves behind Klaus to face the intruders.

Claire was shaking. She thought seeing him again would be easier, but the look on his face revived all the old memories, and she had to fight very hard not to let panic overtake her. They had almost reached them and stepped into the light of the fire where they stopped.

Klaus made an elegant gesture towards the group. "Welcome, Claire darling. I was hoping you would show up for our big event. Unfortunately, I am not so amused about your two escorts, but trust me, they won't be a problem for me," he said cockily.

"I will kill you before you lay your hands on any of them," Claire growled. Klaus' brow shot up.

"I'd like to see you try," he challenged her. To his surprise, Claire smiled widely. She came closer until she was only a few feet away from them and he could see the wild, dangerous look in her eyes.

"Game on, asshole."


	31. Final confrontation

**hey guys, I know, it's been too long, but this one was probably the hardest chapter to write. I'm still not totally content, but at least, I wrote it and not let Claire black out and all the action be re-told later on. therefore, be gentle with me ;) **

**I would also like to thank all of you who have just recently read the story, but especially those who were there from the beginning! this is the one but last chapter, I have kept a loophole to possibly continue another story on these events, but we'll see. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Klaus closed the distance between him and Claire without her even flinching. He brought one of his fingers to her face and stroked down her cheek. She looked at him with stone cold determination in her eyes.

"Hard to believe, but I've missed the touch of your skin," he purred. When she didn't react, he moved faster than light and suddenly held her in front of him, mouth at her neck, fangs drawn. Damon almost jumped, but it looked like something was holding him back. "And the taste of your blood…" Klaus whispered and his fangs clicked. He moved closer to Claire's neck, but just before his teeth ripped open her skin, Claire let out a scream of anguish and Klaus soared a few feet through the air. He landed on his feet, but a look of shock was written all over his face for a brief second before he looked calm again.

"You will never get to taste my blood again, Niklaus. I'd rather die," Claire said with a strong voice whilst towering over him.

"How did you do that, little princess? If I remember correctly, I drank your blood. Don't tell me the effect wears off?" he asked calmly, as if it were just a polite query.

"I found a way to break the curse. With a little help, of course," Claire smiled.

"Search the surroundings," Klaus harshly commanded to Katherine and the witch. The vampire took off immediately while the witch started murmuring incantations.

"You won't find them," Claire chimed. Klaus' looks became angrier every second.

"Someone's here, but I don't know where exactly," the witch whispered to him. Katherine returned empty-handed the same instant.

"I suppose you're good with protection spells, then? Well, you can't protect them all!" Klaus threatened and grabbed Elena. Now Stefan jumped, but again, it looked like something was keeping him frozen.

"I don't care what you do with her, she has betrayed me. I'm here to kill you, not to safe her," Claire announced.

"Is that so?" Klaus' brows shot up. He moved quickly towards the fire the witch had set up. "Then you won't mind me doing this?" he said lightly before he bit into Elena's neck. His eyes were locked on Claire, which showed no sign of emotion whatsoever. A few of Elena's blood-drops fell into the fire and the flame grew bigger. When Claire did not react, Klaus let Elena fall to the floor and strolled to where she was standing. "Betrayed you, huh? Darling, you're always so hard on people. We all make mistakes!" he chatted along.

"My trust is earned hard and lost easily, you of all people should know that, lover," Claire spat. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Caroline sneaking into the light unnoticed and grabbing Elena's body. Unfortunately, Klaus had a keen sense of smell, and he immediately noticed the blonde vampire. He turned around, but before he could speed off, Claire had him frozen, and Caroline shot towards Damon and Stefan, together with Elena's body. Katherine flinched and tried for a moment to go after her, but the prospect of fighting three vampires alone kept her from doing so.

"Well played, love," Klaus chuckled. "But I have a plan of my own. Katherine!" he commanded and the Elena look-alike stepped to the two bags lying on the ground. She freed James from one of them, and a little, red-haired girl from the other. Both were unconscious. Claire immediately froze. "She looks familiar, right? Who would have thought that a powerful witch like you has a werewolf as a godchild?" he smiled. Claire tried a few incantations to make the body fly to her, but none seemed to work. Klaus noticed her effort and laughed again. "Do you really think my witch is that weak? You're not the only one good with spells, honey."

"Bonnie! Now!" Claire suddenly screamed and Bonnie's voice could be heard magically amplified through the whole quarry. The fire flickered before it went out, and even the stars and the moon were gone. For a moment, everything went pitch-black. A few seconds passed, before a soft light filled the dreary darkness. Klaus' witch was soaring in mid-air, Claire standing in front of her. She started speaking, but her voice sounded nothing like her normal self. It was majestic, almost man-like, and terrifying. "There might be no law that forbids you to fight any other witch, but there is the oldest law in witchcraft, which you have broken. It is against our beliefs, our instincts, and our legacy to pair up with the evil monsters of this earth. Any witch, who gets caught by a member of the pristine families doing so, faces ultimate death. Once discovered, there is no point of return. You should have thought twice before doing this."

When she had finished, the soft light that had surrounded the two of them grew brighter and brighter, until everyone had to look away. With a soft thud, the normal darkness returned, and all participants could make out a body lying to Claire's feet. She flicked her hand once, and the fire ignited again. With another flick of her hand, the victim's bodies flew into the protection circle holding Stefan, Damon and Elena. She slowly turned around to face Klaus, and everyone drew in some breath, because Claire looked absolutely terrifying. Klaus almost started shifting nervously. Every inch of his body was on high alert. She was in a killing mood, and that was the worst that could happen.

"Katherine, attack her," he commanded. What a great idea it had been to keep the bitch around. Now he could see what Claire would do to her. Unfortunately for him, an arrow got the vampire before she even came close to the witch. Claire smiled. Alaric wanted some action, too. Katherine fell to the floor, wriggling with pain. It had hit her on the right side of her chest, missing her heart only by inches. Claire slowly started moving towards Klaus.

"The end has come, Klaus. No hybrid-being for you," she mused. Klaus tried to avoid her, starting to circle around. She followed him, her hard gaze resting on him.

"You should think this through, my love. I'm pretty sure my family won't be too happy with what you did. They'll hunt you down!" he tried to persuade her.

"Which family? You killed them all. And I, on one side, am very pleased with what she is about to do," another silent, but deadly voice could be heard from the side of the fire. Elijah had come.

"Brother," Klaus looked surprised, but composed himself immediately. "I should've known you are behind this. Let me guess? You helped her get rid of the curse?"

"Indeed, I gave her my blood. Who could have known that this reverses the curse? I can't stand you anymore. It's time for you to go," Elijah said calmly.

"But then you'll have no one. You'll be all alone," Klaus tried to poison Elijah's mind, and for a brief second, he seemed to loose his composure.

"He won't be alone," Claire intervened. Both looked at her in surprise. "Elijah will always be welcome among my family. He showed courtesy, stood true to his words, and never tried to deceive us. A rare treat among vampires."

"And you think that he will be content with that? An original vampire being adopted by a pristine family? My love, you have no idea of how my brother works," Klaus gave back.

"Wrong," Elijah intruded. "I am very honoured, Claire, and I accept your offer. You do not know anything about me, brother. You used to, but I have changed. You made me change by taking away everyone I ever loved."

"Oh, please, is that about that girl you were in love with? It's been centuries, Elijah!" Klaus grew impatient.

"Centuries during which I still can't forget her. That was your biggest mistake, Klaus. Now you'll have to face the consequences." Elijah looked at him with disgust. He nodded towards Claire, and she raised her hands. Klaus took one short look at her before he started to dart away, but she already had him strong in her hold. She turned him around and moved in closer, softly murmuring incantations. His face was a mask of shock and despair, and for a moment there, Claire was almost surprised. She had never thought his face could actually express something real. He was suspended in mid-air, while Claire came closer and closer, chanting aloud now. Bonnie emerged on the edge of the clearing, chiming in. Unnatural wind surrounded the two, and high above their heads, a storm was brewing. Lights were flashing. Klaus now looked like a mask of death, his ever so young features started to fade and wrinkles appeared. Within seconds, he looked like a mummy, before Claire's hands touched his torso and he just vanished with a loud bang. Claire remained in this position for a second before her body dropped to the floor, lifeless. It was over.

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**Please review if you have any comments!**


	32. Aftermath

**All right, this is NOT the last chapter. Somehow, it seems like I can't just finish it off quickly. I hope this is in your best interest ;)**

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"Do you think we should call her parents?" Elena nervously asked Stefan while looking at Claire's lifeless body lying on Damon's bed. The older vampire was sitting on the edge of the bed, softly stroking Claire's cheek, looking absolutely desperate. It was the sweetest thing Elena ever saw him do. After the big fight, they had brought her to the boarding house as soon as possible, but a few hours passed and she was still in the same state. Bonnie was not a great help; even though she didn't pass out like Claire, she was sort of traumatized by all the events, and hadn't been able to talk so far. She just nodded when asked if she were okay, but not a word had escaped her lips.

"Let's wait just a little bit. Maybe she'll wake up soon," Stefan answered and took Elena's hand. They left the room and went downstairs. Katherine and James were down in the dungeons, and the little girl who was apparently a werewolf sat on the big couch, looking way too innocent to be involved in all this.

"When is Claire going to wake up? I want to go home!" she whined. Elena sat down next to her and hugged her.

"I don't know, Laura. But you're safe with us for now. That man isn't gonna hurt you again," she said. The girl started sobbing.

"He hurt my Claire, I hate him! I hate him so much!" she exclaimed. Stefan knelt down in front of her and took the girl's hands.

"It's okay, sweetie. He is gone now, and Claire will be fine, she's just exhausted," he tried to console her. She looked at him and wrinkled her nose a bit.

"You smell like he did. Are you a bad man?" she asked. Stefan had to suppress a grin.

"You have a very good sense of smell, sweetie. I was a bad man once, but that was many years ago. You can trust me now," he answered truthfully. She shot one sceptical look at him before snuggling deeper into Elena's chest.

"Okay," she mumbled and looked dreamily at him. Oh, boy. Looks like a little girl fancied Stefan. He grinned now, stroked her cheek for a brief second and got up.

"I have to call Claire's parents. For her sake also," he told Elena and nodded towards Laura.

"Alright," Elena said and watched him go upstairs. It was probably better if they knew.

* * *

Damon stared at Claire's face for what felt like hours. He noticed a few people going in and out of the room, but he didn't pay any attention. He would never get over it if she died. Tonight's events had been absolutely terrifying, and he was on the brink of going rogue. During Claire's confrontation with Klaus, he had felt absolutely helpless and unworthy. It had been the worst thing he ever had to witness. And now, she was just lying there. He wasn't even happy that Klaus was dead; he just wanted her to wake up. A few minutes ago, he even kissed her to see if she was maybe under some sort of 'Sleeping Beauty-spell', but nothing had happened. A strong hand broke him free from his trance and he saw his brother standing behind him.

"Claire's father is on his way, I just called him. He was already at the airport, because he sensed that something was wrong," Stefan informed him.

"Did he say what it could be?" Damon asked.

"He said that he had an idea, but that he would tell us once he had seen her. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Damon said. He was looking at her again, holding her hand even tighter. Her father would get her right again. He had to.

"How is he?" Elena asked when Stefan got down to the living room again. He sighed and let himself fall on the couch.

"I've only seen him like this once before; that was when we were made vampires. I'd say it's pretty bad," he answered.

"Oh, no. What if she never wakes up again? It's gonna ruin him," she said.

"We'll have to try our best to keep him from falling into the darkness again if that's really the case. But for now, we just wait for her father to arrive." Stefan took Elena's hand and looked at her sadly. "It's been a long day, you should go to bed."

"Will you hold me?" she asked and snuggled in closer to him. She had put Laura in Stefan's bed to sleep, and was totally content with spending the night on the couch in Stefan's arms. A few days ago, she hadn't been sure about how big her feelings for Stefan actually were, but during these horrible hours, all she wanted was to see him again. Not Damon, him. And that was all the confirmation she needed.

"What about Jenna?" he interrupted her thoughts.

"Alaric will take care of it," she mumbled and let her eyelids drop. That night was the first since many that she finally slept peacefully again. Klaus was gone. The worst part was over.

* * *

James awoke with a huge headache, something he hadn't experienced as a vampire so far. He immediately knew that something was wrong. He looked around and saw that he was in some sort of cellar. Katherine was lying next to him, in a puddle of vampire blood. What had happened? The last thing he could remember was talking to her and Klaus at the quarry where they held Elena. Everything was blank after that. He crawled over to the other vampire and looked at her. A big, wooden arrow stuck out of her chest, and he decided to remove it. With a loud gasp, her eyes opened and she started curling herself together in a ball.

"Katherine, what happened? Where are we?" he immediately asked her. She was just groaning. He shacked her and she pushed him away violently.

"Will you shut up!" she cursed while getting up. "That witch destroyed Klaus and now they're gonna kill us."

"But I don't remember anything! How? When?" he didn't stop asking questions.

"That's because you got knocked out by a few vervaine-darts. I don't know what happened then, either, but I guess it didn't went well, cause we're at the Salvatore-dungeons," she moaned. She had been here one too many times.

"Oh, dear. They're going to kill us," it finally hit James.

"Exactly. So help me come up with a plan to get outta here," Katherine was already fit and ready for her next deceit.

* * *

The next morning, everyone gathered at the boarding house. Claire's father would arrive any minute, and they were eagerly expecting him. Stefan had driven to the airport to get him, and when they heard his car in the driveway, they all got nervous. Nobody knew what to expect, and how tolerant he would be towards their whole situation. Even Elijah had shown up and was waiting eagerly now.

"Welcome to our home," they heard Stefan say as the front door opened. A tall man in his mid-forties walked into the living room, wearing jeans and a black shirt. His hair had the exact same shade of Claire's and their faces were both defined by the marvellously strong cheekbones and the nose of Roman gods. He startled when he saw all of the people staring at him, but after recognising Elena and Elijah, he came towards them.

"Hello, my name is Henry Blackheart, nice to meet you," he introduced himself with a deep voice. "Good to see you again, Elena, it has been quite a while," he then continued and shook her hand. He did the same with Elijah. "Stefan has already told me most about what has happened, I really appreciate you staying true to your promise," he told the Original who just nodded briefly.

"Claire is upstairs, Henry, if you would like to see her," Stefan interrupted them.

"Of course, I'll see you later," he said and followed Stefan to Damon's bedroom. His brother still hadn't left Claire's side, and looked like living hell.

"Damon, this is Claire's father, Henry," Stefan introduced them. Damon managed a short nod towards Henry, who was already sitting on the other side of Claire's bed, holding her hand. His brows furrowed and he looked troubled.

"She looks worn-out. I should have come here sooner. Where is the other witch?" he asked.

"Bonnie's still resting. She didn't talk after the fight," Stefan informed him.

"Witch-trauma. Very strong, it will take a spell to get her to talk again. Please bring her here. Where is Claire's suitcase? I need a few herbs," he went on. Stefan left the room to get Bonnie, whereas Damon went downstairs and back again in a flash with Claire's things. Alaric had brought them, suspecting that her father might need some of the herbs. Henry searched through them and pulled out a thorny, green plant. "Will you get me some hot water, please?" he asked friendly and Damon got it for him. Henry put the plant in it, along with some other stuff from Claire's suitcase and started murmuring strange, foreign words. They did not sound like the incantations Claire always used, and Damon became a bit worried. Henry apparently sensed Damon's irritation, because he looked straight at him. "You love her, don't you?" he suddenly asked.

"Well, I suppose so, yes," Damon answered a bit taken aback. He had never thought of it before, but somehow, it was true. He did love her.

"Then trust me. I won't hurt my own daughter. The atmosphere in here needs to be friendly and loving for her to get better," Henry explained.

"What has happened to her?" Damon asked.

"She had an emotional overload. When we witches fight someone we once had feelings for, or still have, it gets very dangerous. The pain of hurting that someone can wear us out, even kill us. With her and Klaus, there were deep feelings once, which have been replaced by a very strong hatred. All this mixed together, it nearly killed her. When Klaus died, a little part of her died with him, which sent her body into the shock she's currently in. It will take a lot of work to get her back," Claire's father sighed and stroked his daughter's hand. Suddenly, he looked 10 years older. "She's my little girl. And I let her walk into this, knowing what the consequences were. I'm a bad father," he confessed. Damon struggled with himself for a moment before he gave him an answer.

"No, you're not. This was something she needed to do on her own. And you can't always protect her," he said. Wow, Damon Salvatore was consoling a warlock. Somehow, it didn't even surprise him much. Henry looked at him, gratefully.

"Thank you. Now, let's get her back!" he said with a load of enthusiasm and started chanting again.

"Damn it, what have I gotten myself into?" Damon thought while looking at the man. This was way too touchy-feely for his taste. But when his gaze fell upon Claire again, his expression changed and he knew why he did all that. For her. He would do everything for her. She was the love of his life.

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**I hope you like it! Please review if you have any comments, and all that's left to say for now: MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	33. Rejections and Revelations

**Hey guys, here's the next one... a bit short, again, but I guess that's how I roll now, and please don't complain, cause at least, I got my drive back ;)**

**I've seen that I've had over 2,000 hits with chapter 31, and I was soooo thrilled, it always surprised me when I see that so many of you are still following this story... I just have one favour to ask you: please, please, please, with a big, red cherry on top: REVIEW! I've only gotten two since I started posting regularly again, and to be quite honest: that sucks! especially, when I see that I get so many hits. so, I would really, really appreciate it if you would leave a short comment, just so I know what you think! it would mean a lot!**

**Other than that: no katherine and james in this one, I still have to work on their devious plan, but: another major twist coming up, I hope you'll like it! Enjoy!**

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A few days passed, but despite Henry's constant efforts to heal Claire, her state was still the same. Bonnie, on the other hand, after getting 'treatment' from him, was talking again, even though now, she had sworn never to use witchcraft again. They all thought it was just a phase. Damon still hadn't left Claire's bed, and Stefan was beginning to get really worried.

"I don't know what else to do. If she doesn't come back…," he said to Elena one day, his eyes showing the current state of pain he was in. He wasn't always on good terms with his brother, but he didn't want to see him suffer like that.

"Henry's doing his best," Elena said while rubbing his back. She was anxious for the point of Claire's return. After all, in the quarry she had said that Elena was dead to her. Was she telling the truth or was it just a trick to deceive Klaus? She had no answer.

"Maybe you could talk to him? You've always been able to communicate… efficiently with him," Stefan suggested. Elena sighed.

"That was a long time ago, before she showed up. But I can try," she finally said. Stefan gave her a soft kiss.

"I love you," he whispered while locking his eyes with hers. Elena smiled shyly.

"I love you, too."

Caroline came by that afternoon to talk to Henry. She had an urgent question, and was sure that he could help her. Carefully, she peeked into Damon's bedroom, where he was sitting at his daughter's bedside. "Uhm… Mr. Blackheart? Do you maybe have a minute?" she interrupted his thoughts. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Of course, Miss Forbes. What can I do for you?" he asked politely.

"Could we maybe discuss this in private?" Caroline asked a bit embarrassed. After all, Damon was still in the room, even though he did not seem to even notice their conversation. Henry's forehead cringed a bit, but he got up from the bed and walked towards her.

"After you," he motioned out of the door like a true gentleman.

* * *

Elena watched Caroline leave the house with Claire's father and decided that now was the perfect time to talk to Damon. She quickly gave Laura a few easy tasks to do and went upstairs. She had only been to Damon's bedroom once since Claire was in her current state, and she entered hesitantly. Damon lifted his head, which was lying on the sheets. He looked at her with tired, lifeless eyes.

"You look guilty," he said to her, his voice somewhat missing the usual sarcastic undertone. Elena walked into the room and leaned against the wall.

"And you look like hell. Seriously, Damon, just go outside for a few minutes. The fresh air will do you good."

"I don't need fresh air, I'm not human," he sadly said and turned to face Claire again. Elena got a bit jealous. Would he have done the same for her if Claire never showed up? She was happy with Stefan now, but deep down; she still had to fight that stupid jealousy.

"Is she really done with me?" Elena asked to distract him a bit.

"Hard to say, but I don't think so. She's too good-hearted for that. I'd say you've disappointed her, and it might be a while before she fully trusts you again, but she'll still be your friend when she wakes up. If." He added gravely. Elena couldn't stand it anymore. She walked over and knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his arm.

"Damon, sitting here and staring at her won't help. Please, at least get some blood to drink! You look absolutely terrible, and I can't stand to see you like that!" she said with an urgent tone in her voice. He was torturing her.

"Go away, Elena," he sounded resigned. "Your mood is not helping." Elena felt a sharp pain in her stomach. His words were truly hurting her. A few weeks ago, he would have never told her to go away. She sighed and got up, swiftly leaving the room while a tear of agony ran down her cheek.

In the living room, Stefan had heard their whole conversation and quickly disappeared into the basement when Elena came running down the stairs. He knew that she wouldn't want to share this moment with him, that she would be embarrassed. The gravel made quite some noise while she rushed to her car and drove off. Stefan was disappointed. He thought that she would be able to help Damon, but it seemed like their bond was not as strong as it was a few weeks ago. He leaned against the freezer they stored the blood in and thought hard on how to improve their whole situation.

* * *

Henry and Caroline walked out of the house and quite far into the woods before Caroline finally stopped. She wanted to be outside vampire hearing, because if her suspicions were justified, it would mean major trouble. She looked at Claire's father with panic in her eyes.

"I've noticed a few changes recently and I think something's wrong with me," she started. "I thought maybe you could help." Henry eyed her carefully.

"What changes?"

"With my body. I sweat easily, I pant after running, I get sick after too much blood. It all feels like I'm human again," Caroline said. She had noticed these changed during the course of the last few weeks, but with everything that was going on, she was just not paying attention. But now, it was majorly affecting her daily life, so she had to talk to someone about it. Claire always knew when something was wrong with any of them, so it was clear that her father probably had the same ability.

"May I touch you?" he asked and when she nodded, he put one hand on her cheek and the other on her waist. He closed his eyes and Caroline felt a stream of energy flowing through her body. It felt really good, like the first time she was a full vampire, after her first blood. His hands started to wander; his right went down her shoulder and arm, taking her by the hand, whereas the left wandered into the middle of her belly. The energy flow was now stronger than ever, and he opened his eyes again, only to look completely horrified.

"You're with child," was the only thing he said.

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**Review and you're my hero ;)**


	34. Little ideas

**Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great party, and didn't get too drunk ;) Anyways, my hangover has vanished, so here's the new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it and I would like to thank brandibuckeye (my most constant reviewer - thank you so much), ariah23, HelenElisabeth and jacquline for reviewing the last chapter! It feels soooo good to get feedback and I'm glad that you did as I asked :) please, don't stop! ;)**

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"I'm pregnant? But… How?" Caroline asked breathless. Tears started to build up in her eyes. She had suspected something like that, but never thought that it were true.

"I honestly don't know. That werewolf you were standing next to yesterday – did you engage in intercourse with him?" Henry asked.

"Yes, but I thought… I mean, I'm a vampire, how on earth is this possible?" Caroline blushed a bit.

"Hmm… We'll have to look into his lineage, I have an idea, but I'm not certain. For now, I suggest you don't tell anyone about this. Just until we've figured things out," he advised her. Caroline nodded absent-mindedly.

"But what about Tyler?" her head suddenly shot up, and Henry could see the desperation in her eyes. "I have to tell him, I mean, he's the father of this… baby or whatever it is."

"In my opinion, you shouldn't tell him just now. He seems a bit hot-tempered. I'd rather not risk him freaking out until we know for certain what is going on. Have you had any other issues with your body?"

"No, not really, just what I told you earlier," Caroline sighed and dropped to the ground, burying her face in her hands. "I can't believe this happened. I thought I'd avoided teenage pregnancy by becoming a vampire. Looks like I was wrong." She sobbed a bit and Henry saw silent tears running down her cheeks. He sat down next to her and gave her an encouraging hug.

"Don't fall into despair, Caroline. I don't know what it is that is growing in you, or what it will be when it comes out, but if it's anything like his mother, you're gonna love it just as much as a normal mother would love her baby. Trust me, the love between parents and children is nothing like you have experienced so far. Besides, as a vampire, you have until eternity to live a happy life, it's not like your youth is stolen from you," he said. Caroline nodded.

"You're right. I'll always stay like this. But… oh my god! What if my child grows old and dies and I'm still the same 17-year-old that gave birth to him?" she started sobbing even harder than before and buried her face on Henry's shoulder. He sighed silently. That would not be easy.

* * *

"If we could just get out of this cell, then we could run. Maybe I could charm one of them? Or you! Yes, that's it! You start complaining about how inhumane this all is, and that you just want to lead a normal life, and then they'll see that you're not to blame and they'll let you out! Then, you can come back for me!" Katherine suggested to James, who was sitting in one corner of their cell, looking tired and worn-out. The lack of blood was getting to him, and her constant evil chattering was not helping.

"Oh, won't you just shut up! You're going on my last nerve, woman," he told her grumpily. Katherine arched one eye-brow.

"In a bad mood today, are we, Earl? Well, excuse me for bickering you, but I for one want to get out of here!" she said maliciously. James let out a low growl. He really didn't want to deal with her. To his surprise, Henry Blackheart appeared at their cell window that instant.

"Earl Hadlow," Henry nodded. "So, I see you have gotten yourself in a bit of a… peculiar situation?" he asked earnestly, but both vampires could see how much he enjoyed seeing his arch-nemesis as a vampire, held in an ancient cell.

"Lord Blackheart," James remained his countenance. "I guessed you would show up sooner or later. Come to glare?" he shot a devious look at Claire's father, who softly chuckled.

"I have to admit, it is quite amusing seeing you like this, but, no, I am no cold-hearted man. I want to help you," he said. Katherine eyes him suspiciously. How could she use this to her advantage?

"Help me? You can help me by killing me. Being locked in a cell with that demon of a woman is driving me crazy. I'd rather die," James confessed.

"You see, Earl Hadlow, I have something else on my mind. Why don't you come upstairs and we talk about the proposition I have for you?" Henry said cheerfully. Katherine tensed up. That was her chance! When he got James out of the cell, she would run for it. The Earl shot Henry a sceptical look, but got up nevertheless. He slowly walked to the door, which Henry opened. As soon as it was unlocked, Katherine moved hyper fast, and tried to get past Claire's father, but she found her way blocked. "Did I forget to mention it? Escape is impossible, Miss Pierce," Henry said amused. Her face was priceless. She let out an angry snarl and retreated. Henry let James out of the cell and gave him a blood bag. Together, they went into the living room, where Stefan was already waiting. Henry had talked about this with him, and they were both sure that they had found a way to get the Earl out of their lives for good.

* * *

Damon's head shot up in alarm. James was out of the cell. He listened in on their conversation, and quickly, his attention was drawn back towards Claire. They had a plan, alright. He was too apathetic to even care much. Slowly, he got up from the floor and sat down next to his lover. She looked unchanged. What was going on inside her? Damon softly stroked her cheek and sighed. He would do anything to get her back, or to know that she would come back. The sound of little feet startled him and he looked at the door where her little godchild Laura was standing shyly. She hadn't been up here yet, and she stared at Claire in shock. Damon didn't want to have to care about a child, too, but he knew that Claire would want him to.

"Hello, little one. Why don't you come in?" he proposed, trying his best to sound trustworthy. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you gonna hurt me?" she asked. Clever girl, still suspicious of every vampire.

"No, Claire would kill me if I did," Damon chuckled softly. A small grin appeared on the girl's face and she hopped cheerfully into the room and onto the bed.

"She would. She likes me very much, you know?" Laura bragged. Damon shot her a quick smile. "Is she sleeping?" she asked.

"Yes, very deeply," Damon answered.

"When is she going to wake up?"

"I don't know," Damon said truthfully. "I hope soon." He sighed.

"You should take her outside, you know? She once said to me that whenever she felt sick, she went into the woods and everything became alright again," Laura proposed. Damon chuckled slightly. What a childish idea… But then, again, she had told him that she felt safe in the nature, maybe the girl was right!

"You have a point there, little one," he said. "It won't hurt trying," with these words he got up and cautiously lifted her from the bed. She was wearing one of her long, beautiful dresses. Caroline's idea.

"Can I come with you?" Laura asked. Damon wanted to say no, but then he remembered Henry's words. Claire could use every friendly thought, and so he nodded. They went downstairs and encountered Stefan, Henry and James in the living room.

"What are you doing?" Henry got up, alerted.

"I'm taking her into the nature. I think it might help," Damon said while the three hurried over to him. Henry's expression, at first sceptical, now changed to surprised.

"What a great idea! Why haven't I thought of that?" he mused.

"It was my idea!" Laura chimed in happily. James came in closer, too, and looked at Claire's lifeless body.

"What happened to her? Did Klaus do this?" he asked angrily.

"She fell into a coma-like state when she destroyed him," Stefan answered. They all watched him bend over her, and to their surprise, he took her hand.

"I can't believe this, she cannot die! Not because of him," he stated.

"That's exactly what we're trying to avoid. Now, do you want to help or are we gonna stay here all day?" Damon interfered, some of his sarcasm slowly returning.

"We should all go together," Henry proposed. "It will help enormously." Every one nodded and Stefan took out his phone to call Caroline, Bonnie and Elena. He hoped his girlfriend would show up, that she was not too pissed. But after all, Claire's life was at stake. Elena just had to pull herself together.

Half an hour later, the party left the boarding house and made their way towards the meadow where Claire had first encountered Katherine. It had been Damon's idea to go there, because he knew how much Claire had liked lying in the soft grass. It was a curious sight, the whole crew trotting through the forest. Up front was Henry with Damon, who was still carrying Claire, followed by a very silent James. Stefan followed behind him, always keeping an eye on the somewhat still suspicious vampire. Laura and Elena came next, holding hands. Elena had a stern look on her face, and hadn't talked to Stefan since he had called her to come. Bonnie and Jeremy followed, both with anxious looks on their faces. Even Alaric had shown up, he was walking with Tyler at the back of the procession. Caroline was the last one, lost deeply in her thoughts, trailing off a bit behind. After a short walk, they reached their destination.

The girls' hairs were flying around once they stepped into the open and Henry smiled pleased. "It's windy, that is good," he mused and followed Damon into the middle. He laid Claire down on the soft grass and looked at her in awe. Ever since they had left the house, her skin had adopted a healthier tone and she looked better every minute. "Build a circle and hold each other's hands!" Henry now commanded the others. They did as he asked, Elena quickly positioning Laura between herself and Stefan. Damon remained at Claire's side, while Henry stood up and raised his hands high above his head. He started humming at first, and his somber voice continued on into a song. None of them understood the words, but the wind grew stronger, and they felt a wave of energy among them. Their hands became hotter where they touched, but it was pleasing, not burning. Flowers started to fly through the air along with the leaves and they watched in awe as Claire's body slowly started to lift from the ground. Her dark hair was framing her head like a crown, and the leaves and flowers were encircling her body. Her eyes were still closed, and she soared a few feet above the ground, weightless as if she were in water. Henry's voice came to a final verse, and excitement was coming up in all of them. When he had finished, a bright light emerged from Claire, not unlike the one they had seen when she had battled Klaus. They shielded their eyes, and when they looked back, her body was lying on the floor again. For a brief second, they thought it had not worked, but then her chest rose heavily, and with a loud gasp, she shot up, panting for air. Some of them let out sounds of surprise and cheer, whereas Damon only stared at her in disbelief. Claire looked at them with big eyes, taking in every single one of them. She swallowed loud, looked at them, and said:

"What the hell?"

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**Same procedure as every time: Review and you're my hero ;)**


	35. My humanity is bound up in yours

**There you go: another one. I feel obligated to warn you, though. Claire is going into a direction that some of you might not like at all, but trust me when I say that she'll find a way back, it might only take some time.**

**And to all of you who reviewed again: I cannot thank you enough! It felt sooooo frikkin great to get some response and I can easily say that you made my day. I really appreciate it.**

**BTW: the chapter title comes from a beautiful quote which says "My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together" by Desmond Tutu.**

**Enjoy!**

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Claire only managed to look around once after her exclamation before a few pair of hands captivated her in a fierce embrace. Caroline, Bonnie and Laura had all sprinted towards her kneeling on the floor, now slowly cutting off Claire's airway.

"Can't. Breathe," she finally managed to say and they let go of her. She saw that Caroline had tears in her eyes, and Bonnie smiled gleefully and relieved. Laura took her hand and looked up at her face admiringly. Claire felt like she had been run over by a train. Her whole body was aching, and she fought hard against not lying down again. A strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder, and as she turned around, she looked into Damon's ice-blue eyes. He looked at her, pleadingly, and she suspected that he wanted her to hug him, but somehow, she didn't want to. In fact, she didn't want any of their attention. Slowly, she turned away from his emotional gaze and stood up. Her father was there, too, and he softly squeezed her hand. Claire's brows shot up in confusion.

"I'm glad you're back, seabug," he said and in her mind, a childhood memory vaguely formed, in which her father had called her that name all the time. But now, it seemed far, far away. She didn't even feel any comfort by his presence or the other's. She faced them and said slowly.

"I don't want your emotional greetings. Yes, I almost died, and now I'm back. That bastard is gone for good, and we can all move on with our lives. Now, I need a drink," she sighed and turned around to leave. Damon caught her hand as she swayed past him, and held her back.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked sceptically, the emotions displayed on his face earlier now replaced by distrust.

"Nothing, I just want to be alone. It's not every day you wake up from a coma," she said and freed herself. Damon let her go and looked at Henry in confusion. The rest of the party closed in and they all looked shocked. Claire's father sighed and took out his cell phone. He did not make any effort to talk privately, so they all listened in on his conversation.

"Florence, honey, we have a problem," he was obviously calling his wife. "No, she woke up, but it's as I feared: a good part of her died with Klaus." He shot meaningful glances towards the others, and their hearts grew heavy with the bad news.

* * *

"Bartender! One more, on the rocks!" Claire called out and shoved her third glass of Vodka toward the surprised man tending the bar at the Mystic Grill that afternoon. He had seen her around here before, always with friends, cheerful and sweet. Now it seemed like there was another person sitting in front of him. Wordless, he handed her another refill and turned away. None of his business, at last.

Night had already fallen dark and dangerous when Elena entered the Mystic Grill with some hesitation. She had volunteered to go talk to Claire and see to it that she did not do anything stupid. Damon had retreated, fuming with anger, and Stefan was discussing the situation with Henry. The others had returned to their homes reluctantly, Elena had to promise them to call if anything changed. She saw her friend sitting alone at the bar, an empty glass in front of her. Unfortunately, the sight reminded her of Damon the first few days back in Mystic Falls. It was as if Claire had turned her humanity off, too. Confidently, she walked over to the bar and sat down next to her.

"What do you want? Come to keep me in check?" Claire immediately asked without even properly looking at Elena.

"No, I just came to sit here and have a drink," Elena decided to lie.

"Don't pretend, Elena. All you want to know is if I meant what I said in the quarry. I can see it occupying your mind. I even felt it when I was out. Do you have any idea how that was for me?" Claire now turned around to shoot her an accusing look. "There I was, fighting with my life, struggling to get out of the darkness, and in you came, and all that was on your mind was if I still liked you. You're childish, Elena, and I've had enough of you," Claire said angrily while sipping from her drink again.

"Why are you so angry?" Elena tried to remain calm. She knew this wasn't her friend Claire speaking.

"I'm not angry, I'm just careless," she answered. "I've been concerned about other people since I came here, now it's time for me." Claire got up and grabbed her coat. She put some money on the bar and turned to face Elena one last time. "Grow up, and then we can be friends again," she spat, special emphasis on the word friend. Elena actually felt hurt. She thought she did not need Claire's friendship, but now that her friend didn't want it, she realised it was crucial to her.

Outside the grill, as Claire wanted to get into her car, she faced James. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hello, darling," he greeted her. She tried to get past him, but he captured her waist. In a flash, he had turned her around, trapped between him and the car. "Now, I've got you where I wanted you to be…," he slowly grinned and leaned down. Claire chuckled maliciously before he flew into the darkness. Her powers were as strong as ever. To her surprise, he got up in no time and was standing in front of her again.

"Out of my way, James. I'm not in the mood," she said.

"Oh, but I am. Especially now, that you're so… perfect." Upon hearing these words, she looked at him in surprise.

"You think?"

"I do. Now, you're exactly as I've always wanted you to be. Cold, heartless and evil. I think we might have some fun together," he said and before Claire knew what was happening, he had crushed his lips on hers, and she didn't even think twice, she returned his efforts with as much strength as she could muster. She just didn't care, and at that moment, she thought: Why not? Together, they stumbled down a few blocks, making out in hidden alleys and closed shop-doors, before he bought a room at the town's B&B. Laughing loudly; they disappeared into the finest room together. Elena stood outside, watching with wide eyes.

* * *

"My wife is going to arrive the day after tomorrow," Henry said to Stefan after one more phone call with her. "She is confident that we can get this under control." Stefan nodded earnestly. He was going over Bonnie's and Claire's grimoires, together with same of the old ones from Dr. Martin.

"I can't believe this is all so complicated. If I had known what would have happened to her…," he mused. Henry laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"There was no other way. And besides, no one knew what would happen exactly. There never was a case were an Original and a Pristine have loved each other before engaging in a deadly fight," he said.

"So you think Klaus loved her?" Stefan asked, surprised.

"It's hard to tell. Elijah told me he was particularly obsessed with her; and with monsters like Klaus, obsession means love."

"Do you think the old Claire is still there? That we can bring her back?" Stefan asked hesitantly. Henry thought about it for a long time. Finally, he answered.

"I have to believe it. She can't be gone for good. But my wife is the better witch when it comes to dealing with feelings. She will know what to do," he tried to encourage the vampire, but Stefan could not fail to notice that his voice has taken up a small tone of resignation. None of them noticed Damon standing at the back of the room, listening to their conversation. In a swift move, he was gone, and Stefan only noticed the sound of a door, before he turned back to going through the grimoires.

* * *

**2 days later**

"Still not answering. Both of them," Stefan said to Henry while putting down his phone. They were once again in the Salvatore living room. It had been two days since they had heard from either Damon or Claire. Oddly, James was also gone, but Henry had made him an offer, and they believed that he took it and ran. If everything worked out as they wanted, their debt to his family would be paid off, too. Elena entered with Laura, chatting away cheerfully. She smiled at the little girl and Stefan enjoyed seeing this rare treat. Her distance towards him had not changed since Claire had woken up. She also seemed like she was keeping something from him, but he could not point his finger at what exactly it was. Bonnie and Caroline had also shown up each day, and the witch had tried to locate the two missing, but with Damon, it was never steady, he just kept moving; and with Claire, she just couldn't locate her at all. At least they knew that Damon was still around Mystic Falls. Caroline too had been acting weird. She would disappear with Henry into the woods for hours at once, and when they returned, she looked worn-out and worried. Stefan was in over his head. Somehow, he felt that this was his entire fault.

"Elijah hasn't been around lately, has he?" Henry interrupted his thoughts. Stefan shook his head. The Original had disappeared shortly after Henry's arrival.

"Do you need something from him?" he asked curiously.

"No, I just have a few questions, but they can wait," Henry answered. He looked at his watch nervously. "She should be here any second now," he said, talking about his wife.

"We could have easily fetched her from the airport," Stefan commented, once again. Henry smiled at him silently, with wisdom in his eyes that he did not quite understand.

"If there's one thing I learnt being married to that woman, than it is to never question her decisions. If she wants to drive here herself, so be it," he mused, and a lively sparkle appeared in his eyes. Stefan grinned shortly before bringing his attention back to the books.

* * *

Damon wandered through the forests once again, lost in his day-long strain of thought. Elena had called him right after her discovery, and he didn't know what to do. He just couldn't decide whether to go on another killing spree or to stay 'in check', as they would say. He was hopelessly over challenged with the whole situation. Just this morning, he had stumbled upon a group of female campers, and he didn't do anything to them! Not the slightest bite he took. After hearing the news, he considered calling Mae for about 2 minutes, but figured that it would only upset Stefan and bring his brother closer to thinking that he had to care for him. And that, he was sure, was that last thing he wanted. Without knowing, he had wandered into the middle of a nearby road, and noticed too late that a car was approaching fast. He looked at it, and stopped right there. The driver hit the brakes hard, and when the vehicle slithered to a halt merely inches from him, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that circumstance. Damon looked through the windshield and saw a red-haired woman. She had put her forehead on the driving wheel, and when she brought her head up again, Damon froze. The eyes! Emerald-green eyes were looking keenly at him, the same eyes he had stared into so often during the last few weeks. The woman got out of the car slowly and went to him. She was absolutely beautiful, even though she had to be in her mid-forties. She stopped in front of him, a cocky smile on her lips.

"You must be the vampire my daughter has fallen for," she said calmly. Damon started to move again. Of course! It had to be Claire's mother, if she had the same eyes. For a moment there, he had thought, he'd seen a ghost. His old self came back quickly and he shot her a crooked grin.

"Lady Blackheart. It's a pleasure," he said and planted a kiss on her hand, which she did not withdraw. She shot him a winning smile.

"Please, call me Florence."

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**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**And if you wondered why Henry called Claire seabug: I just thought one of her pet-names could have ben C-bug, and because they live at the coast, and Claire loves the ocean, 'sea'bug is the logical playful name I would've come up with were I her father.**


	36. For we can only be human together

**Alright, here's the next one. And can I just say that I'm a total sucker for Klaus and Caroline? That scene where he gave her the bracelet was magical! I never thought I'd support this, but somehow, they're perfect together! If any of you know any good fanfics about them, please let me know!**

**This one is dedicated to my linguistics proseminar paper about taboo replacement and euphemism, which I should have written during the last days, but which motivated me to write this chapter instead. Still hope I'll get it done by monday nevertheless.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Damon liked Florence. He liked her a lot. If he wouldn't be sort of dating her daughter, he would have totally gone for her. From his position on the living room couch, he observed how sweetly she greeted her husband and introduced herself to the other people present. How she softly hugged Laura and assured her that she would see her parents soon. She had a sweet exterior, but Damon guessed that there was a tough woman underneath. They were filling her in on the whole story, and for once, he didn't feel the need to interfere. Since Claire's awakening, he had a careless attitude about it all. At least on the outside. Inside, he was suffering. Luckily for him, there was the switch. Even though Rose had once said that it was just a delusion, he liked to believe it wasn't.

"And you don't know where she is?" Florence asked her husband.

"No, we don't. She's blocked herself," was the answer that made her forehead crinkle.

"Actually, I know where she is," Damon now felt that he should participate. They all spun around and looked at him in confusion.

"You've known? Since when?" Stefan asked surprised, anger swaying in his voice.

"A while. Elena knew, too," he said and shot a challenging look towards her. She was hugging herself uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I thought Damon would take care of it," she tried to defend herself.

"Which, obviously, he hasn't," Stefan answered. "So tell us, where is she?" he demanded. Elena backed away slightly. Why was he so upset?

"At the Mystic B&B. With James," she said feebly. Stefan's brows shot up. He turned to face Damon.

"And you haven't gone on a killing spree yet?" It was rather a statement than a question.

"I can control myself if I want to," his brother dryly stated.

"We need to get there now," Florence interfered their little chat.

"Yes, of course. Do you want us to go with you?" Stefan asked politely. Florence's gaze ended up on Damon.

"Not now. Maybe later. Once you've turned your feeling on again, dear," she told the older Salvatore brother, took her husband's hands and off they went.

"Bossy one. Now I see where Claire gets it from," Damon mused while pouring himself some Scotch. Elena sighed annoyed and left the room. Stefan shot him a warning look and went after her. That only left him and Caroline. She looked exhausted. Slowly, she walked over and sat down on the other end of the couch.

"I hate my life right now," she said, the usual lively tone in her voice gone.

"Oh, come on, Bubbly. It's not so bad. At least she's not dead," he tried half-heartedly to cheer her up.

"Yeah… Claire," she said as if she hadn't been talking about that. "She'll be alright again. She's got all the help she needs."

"What's going on?" Damon suddenly asked sharply. Something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Nothing," she gave back a bit too fast. He got up and grabbed her chin to force her to look him in the eyes.

"Tell me. Now. Or I'll swear to all the cheerleaders there are that I'll make you tell me with more painful methods," he threatened.

"Hey, don't let all your anger out on me!" Caroline complained. In a swift motion, she had shoved his hand away and darted towards the door. However, not fast enough, as he was blocking her way.

"One last time, Caroline. Tell me," he pinned her against the entrance door, a deadly stare in his ice-cold eyes.

"I can't tell. I had to promise Henry," she said. His grip on her tightened.

"Is it about Claire?" he asked.

"No, absolutely not!" she truthfully said. She had always been a bad liar, so Damon knew instantly that she was telling the truth. He let go of her and returned to the living room.

"Well, then I guess I'll just wait until the Lord decides to tell me himself," he grabbed his glass and returned to his previous position on the couch. "You can go now," he dismissed her with a flick of his hand. Caroline snorted annoyed and turned on her heels to get the hell out of that house.

* * *

It was easy for Florence to charm the concierge into telling them which room Claire was in. He had obviously been compelled, as he didn't remember seeing anyone go in and out of a room reserved for a 'Clara Schwarzherz'. Henry rolled his eyes while climbing the stairs.

"She could have been a little bit more subtle. What's our plan, honey?"

"We'll see. Let's have a look at how bad it still is. Maybe she's going back towards normal again," his wife replied and shot him a concerned look.

"I would wish so, but I'm afraid not – just listen!" he said and nodded towards his right. Florence listened and could soon make out music coming from the end of the corridor. They approached the last door, and the music grew louder and louder.

_After all, god can keep my soul, England have my bones_

"You're right," she said while rubbing her forehead. The heavy guitar riff was pulsating through her veins.

_But don't ever give me up, I could never get back up, when the future starts so slow..._

Henry raised a brow and hammered at the door. After a few seconds, it shot open and they were looking at James, half-naked, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth. They looked at him, shocked.

"Well, here's a visit I didn't expect. Claire, darling! Your parents have graced us with their presence," he said mockingly and stepped aside. They now had a clear view of the room and saw their daughter dancing in the middle of a huge living room. Her hair was loose and curled; something that only happened when she didn't use a flat iron. Her only piece of clothing seemed to be an expensive men's shirt with only a few buttons done. She held a half-empty bottle with brown liquid in her hand, swaying it dangerously through the air while going with the music. They watched as James moved towards her and captured her hand to show her to the visitors. She stopped in her movement, looked lazily over at the door and began a slow stroll towards it.

"Mother, father," she said politely, but both could see the dangerous spark in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"We've come to bring you back," her mother said, emotions filling her voice. It was hard for her to see Claire like that. Her little baby, the fallen angel.

"But I don't want to go back. I need a break," she said and took a deep sip from the bottle. Henry snatched it from her violently.

"That's enough, Claire Jane Blackheart-Mortemart," he said strictly. She widened her eyes and shot him a sarcastic grin.

"Oh, so we're that far, huh? Calling me by my full name," she mocked. Turning around at James, she added: "I think I'm in troubleeeee!" Her father's features hardened, whereas her mother's became softer. She stepped closer to her daughter and put a hand on her cheek. Looking deeply into the emotionless eyes, she sighed heavily.

"It is not your fault, my baby. He has done this to you. But he's gone now, you can be free," she said softly. Claire stared at the familiar green eyes for many seconds. She knew she was supposed to hug her mum, to thank her and her father, to cry and be happy again. But somehow, she couldn't. It was like she was broken beyond repair. She swallowed and lowered her head.

"I can never be free again," she said silently and smashed the door in their faces.

* * *

They didn't immediately return to the Boarding house. Henry drove an almost forgotten road deep into the woods where he parked the car and helped his wife a little bit further. She was too quiet. They entered a clearing, and Florence sank to her knees in the high grass. Burying her face in her hands, she started sobbing. Henry let her be for a short while before sitting down next to her and pulling his wife into a tight hug.

"She's gone, Henry. There's nothing of her left anymore," Florence winced as she said the painful words.

"Don't say that," he tried to console her, even though he had thought it himself. "Do not give up hope."

"But how can I not? I've looked into her soul, and there was nothing! Absolutely nothing. No feelings whatsoever. She's turned them off, like the vampires do," she replied and looked him in the eyes. Softly, he caressed her cheek and wiped her tears away.

"That means she can turn them on again, darling. Let's just give her some time," he said softly.

"But how much time do you think it will take? And how should we do this? I've looked through every Grimoire I could find; there was nothing about that sort of thing. My natural powers haven't helped, and I've cured people who weren't my daughter. Our bond alone should be strong enough to bring her back. I feel like we've lost her," she said and the tears started falling again. Henry pulled her closer and kissed her hair. He didn't know what to say anymore.

"Maybe I can help," they heard a strong voice coming from the edge of the forest. Both looked up and leapt to their feet, alarmed. Elijah stepped out from under the trees and they slightly relaxed.

"Lady Mortemart," he said graciously and kissed the top of her hand. She nodded briefly at him. "I've followed the events of the last few days, and I have a proposal," Elijah said.

"What sort of proposal?" Henry asked.

"I'll take care of her. Take her with me on my travels for a few years. It will obviously take time to bring her back, and I volunteer." They stared at him in disbelief.

"What do you want in return?" Florence asked.

"Oh, please. I do not always want something. I like Claire, and I am willing to help her. That's all you need to know. I promise to not let any harm come to your daughter," he said calmly. Florence turned to face her husband.

"What do you think?" she asked. His forehead cringed.

"I don't know. Do you think it will work?" he gave back.

"Yes. I think Elijah has a point," she said and looked at the Original. Slowly, she let go of her husband's hands and grabbed Elijah's. "You promise by all that is precious to you that you will not hurt her?" He nodded. "And you will bring her back once she's normal again?" Again, he nodded.

"Alright. I think we have a solution. It will definitely be hard on us, but it's her only chance," Henry said with a heavy heart. "Can you take her immediately? I fear staying in Mystic Falls won't do her any good."

"Of course. What do you want my to do with the vampire? James?" Elijah asked.

"We'll take care of him," Florence quickly said. Her husband had told her about the offer he had made the Earl, and they plan on getting him to accept it.

"Very well, then. Good-bye," Elijah said quickly before disappearing. They both stood motionless and looked at the point he had just been standing seconds ago.

"She's gone," Florence muttered quietly.

"It's her only shot. I trust him, honey," her husband said and embraced her tightly. They had to stay strong now. For as long as it would take.

* * *

Everyone had been anxiously awaiting their return, and when they finally arrived, their was a heap of questions being thrown at them. Damon was standing in the background, silently awaiting their verdict. Henry held up his hands to silence them all. He too a deep breath and looked into the hopeful faces.

"She's gone. There was nothing we could do for her, so Elijah took her with him. He will fix her, it might just take some time," he finally said. Silence. They all stared at him in shock.

"She's…. gone? Like, for a few years?" Caroline asked speechless. Henry nodded.

"Oh my god. I couldn't even say goodbye," Elena looked shocked. Stefan gently rubbed her arm.

"She's not dead, guys, just gone," Damon finally decided to speak. They all turned to look at him in shock. He took a deep sip of his drink and shot them a sarcastic grin. "Klaus is still dead – time to party!" he said cockily. Elena strode over to him in fast steps and before he could do anything, she had slapped him hard.

"You idiot! The woman you love has just left for good – and you feel nothing! Don't let go of your humanity, Damon!" she almost screamed. He grabbed her by the wrists and looked her hard in the eyes.

"She's gone, Elena. And with her went my humanity. For we could only be human together," he hissed and left the room in a flash.

Stefan sighed and hugged the still shocked Elena. Only thinking of what lay ahead of him caused him headaches. The old Damon was back, and somehow, he had the feeling that it would be worse than ever this time.

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**Reviews are more than greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think!**

**Song: "Future starts slow" - The Kills**


	37. The Road not taken

**Alright, here's the deal: the next 4 chapters are short 'scenes', where only one of our main characters appears. I've decided to write it that way to give you an insight into where the characters stand. Here's the first one, I hope you'll like it!**

**And also: thanks for the great reviews! Now standing at 99, number 100 gets a special thanks ;) you guys rock!**

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**5 years later: Vienna, Austria**

Tourists and locals were busily walking across the huge square in front of St. Stephen's dome. A woman, standing in front of a huge window, almost as big as the wall, observed them. Looking down the seven stories she was up, she could not help but compare them to dolls. She wore a long, elegant dress that was low in the back. The black, silky fabric was beaded with diamonds. Her dark hair was falling softly down her neck, ending in a loose braid across her left shoulder. She took a sip from the champagne glass in her hand while a man stepped up behind her. Without turning, she knew that it was him. Her saviour.

"I'm getting a bit bored. Are you ready to go?" he asked while softly touching her arm. His hand was cold as ice, but she didn't shiver. During the last years, she had gotten accustomed to his icy touch. Too many times he had to restrain or jump at her. Lately, he did not have to use force anymore. When she found her way into his arms, it was because she needed the comfort. Her humanity was coming back.

"No, I'd rather stay. I'll meet you at the hotel," she told him without taking her eyes off the square. He felt him rubbing her arm shortly and leaving her side. Turning around, she saw Elijah walking over to a beautiful, obviously bored blonde woman. He nodded towards the door and they left together, not without the girl shooting a furious glance towards the woman by the window. Rebekah hated her, and nothing would ever change that. After all, Klaus had been her favourite brother. A bit uneasy, her fingers clenched for her necklace, but instead of the silver heart, she grasped an expensive collier with embedded saphires.

"Lady Blackheart," a male voice now demanded her attention and she turned to her left where a man in his mid-thirties was standing. Everything about him screamed 'money', not that she would expect anything else in a place like this. She nodded politely. "Allow me," he said while taking her empty glass and giving her a new, filled-up one. The hint of a smile escaped her lips, it felt almost strange. "Are you enjoying Vienna?" the man asked. She remembered that they had been introduced a few hours ago, upon arriving. He was the heir of a huge Austrian jewellery company. Not a bad catch.

"Oh, it is lovely. But of course, I've been here before," she answered. One of his brows shot up in pleasant surprise.

"Is that so? How come?" he asked. She shifted her position to face him and let her fingers trace the expensive glass she was holding.

"My nanny was from Austria; and when she was diagnosed with cancer, I came back with her. I stayed with her here in Vienna until she died," she reported.

"Oh, I am so sorry! What a terrible loss that must have been," he said and she could see that he meant his words.

"Don't be, it was actually somehow quite nice. My nanny had gotten very melancholic, so she showed me around in Vienna. Lots of graveyards and churches, you see. What is it that all Viennese people are obsessed with death?" she tried to make small-talk. He chuckled lightly.

"I wouldn't know, because I am not from Vienna, but I guess it's in their blood. Besides, don't you British people have a very dark sense of humour yourselves?" he returned. The corners of her mouth twitched upward.

"Yes, we do. I guess I can see the fascination. And I have to admit, I rather enjoyed the cemeteries," she confessed. He looked at her with interest in his eyes and paused shortly before continuing.

"Forgive my bluntness, but I have to ask: are you by any chance married or promised to someone?" She took a deep breath. That question always was inevitable. She looked down shortly and swallowed. Every time someone asked her that, she had to think of him. Was he still thinking about her? Would he ever take her back? She felt the sharp sting that was almost too familiar in her chest, and smiled sadly at the man.

"I am neither wife nor fiancée. But I'm afraid, you are fighting a loosing battle here," she tried to be polite.

"Why so? Are you not attracted to me? Do you find me uninteresting?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, no, on the contrary. You are everything a woman like me could wish for. But I have given my heart away a long time ago. I'm afraid it won't return." The man shot her a quizzical look. She seemed sad, so sad for a girl her age and beauty. He sighed and took her right hand into both of his.

"A huge loss for me. But I understand. The heart wants what it wants. I wish you all the best." With that, he kissed her hand tenderly and retreated gracefully. The woman turned back to the window and looked at the people below. She could hear the huge bell chiming, it was midnight, and as she looked up, her reflection became visible. She looked at her elegant face, but for her, it held no beauty anymore. A silent tear crawled down her cheek as she thought back of what she had left behind. The road she had not taken. She missed him. She missed him so much her heart ached all the time. But she was weak. There was no going back. Determined, she wiped the tear off her face and took a deep breath. No, her chance was gone. She would never love again.

On the square below, people still looked like dolls.

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**Wow, I became so melancholic myself when writing this; must be the time (2:45 AM). I hope you liked the change of style.**


	38. Happiness Came Disguised as Misery

**Okay, here's the next scene. Not my best work, but it was necessary to clear up the mess that was Mystic Falls 5 years ago. This one takes place the same time the last one did. I hope you'll like it nevertheless. It's not as sad as the last one.**

**And as a special treat, the next one will be up tomorrow ;)**

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Mystic Falls

Branches swished by his face left and right as he was running through the night. Behind him, he could hear her chuckle. A menacing, playful chuckle. Just by listening to it, you would never guess that it was a child he was dealing with. And damn, was she fast! He took a quick right turn and hurried down the ancient stairs that led to the Lockwood cellar. Without closing the door behind him, he stormed inside and hid behind a few barrels. Little footsteps came closer, before they stopped in the middle of the room.

"I can hear you breathe, you know?" the little girl chimed. He held his breath. "And now I can hear your heartbeat. Just give up, I'm faster than you!" she yelled and suddenly, the barrels where thrown aside and he looked at the little girl, blonde, evangelic curls hanging down the side of her face and a look of excitement making her eyes sparkle. "Got ya!" she said before throwing herself into his arms. The fearful look on his face vanished and he hugged his little baby girl hybrid.

"You're a force of nature, Lily, you know that?" he laughed. She cuddled against him and played with the buttons on his shirt. At that moment, her mother entered the cellar. She always ran a bit behind on their nightly trips to make sure that the girl didn't get hurt. Her existence was a secret, and once people found out, it was all over. She shot the two of them a winning smile.

"Let's get home, dawn's breaking," she said.

"But Mommy, I'm still hungry! Can't I have another fox?" the girl pleaded. Caroline walked over and helped her up.

"Alright, but only just one. Come on!" she said and the two of them vanished within seconds. He stared after them and got up slowly. When she had told him that she was pregnant, he thought it was a joke. How was it even possible? He had thought his world would crash down. But luckily, Henry was around. He did some digging and found out that he was from a very ancient line of werewolves, probably also the one that Klaus' father had belonged to. When Lily was born, they gave her human blood, but she nearly died. That was until they figured out what she needed. Elena's blood. After that, they never gave her human blood to drink again, just animal blood. And she was a normal child. Besides the superhuman strength and speed. And the shifting into a werewolf by choice. But that Lily didn't like. As she once said herself "Daddy, I think I'm a cat-person." For now, their world was alright. They would take it step by step, day for day. Nothing could tear them apart anymore.

While leaving the cellar and returning to their home, he passed the cemetery and briefly paused at his parent's grave. His mother was killed 2 years ago. By a vampire, of course – and not just a vampire, no, Damon Salvatore, the one that had already killed Mason, took away the only parent he had left. He had sworn revenge, and would he ever dare to show his face in Mystic Falls again, he was a more than undead man.

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**DUMDUMDUMDUUUUM! will Damon ever return to Mystic Falls and risk revenge? You'll find out soon ;)**


	39. A Monster Like Me

**Okay, alright, I was unsatisfied with the last one, so I couldn't help but upload the next one. Also, I would like to thank all of you who reviewed last time - we cracked the 100th review! WOOOHOOOOO! you guys rock. and special thanks to jacquline for writing #100!**

**this story feels so personal at this point, as you might've noticed, I'm having a hard time ending it. but I know I have to, cause you're all waiting for Claire and Damon to get back together. well, let's just say that there's still some obstacles to overcome, and there will be a few guest appearances by our new, sexy originals, who don't necessarily make things easier. But don't worry, it's not gonna evolve into a whole different story ;)**

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**New York**

Cautiously, the chambermaid knocked on door number 531. She had lost a game of rock, paper, scissors against the other maids who made her clean this room. They didn't know why, but they were supposed to stay out of it. Unfortunately, their boss had noticed it and forced them to clean the room. She heard someone cursing inside and her heartbeat grew faster as steps approached from the other side of the door. It swung open and her sight fell upon the most gorgeous man. He had dark hair, piercing blue eyes, a cocky grin and only wore black briefs. He eyed her up and down and a dangerous look appeared on his face. With his ruffled hair, the defined cheek bones and strong abs he looked like a fallen angel.

"What does such a lovely lady want from me?" he asked charmingly.

"I.. I.. I'm the chambermaid, I'm supposed to clean your room, Mr Black?" she said insecurely. He intimidated her. He cocked his head to the side and eyed her more intensely, if that was even possible.

"Well, then why don't you come in?" he stepped aside and she entered. The door closed behind her and when she looked up from her tray, a silent scream escaped her lungs. There were naked bodies all over the bed and couch. She wanted to turn away embarrassed, but when she looked closer, she saw a red liquid on all of them. She then realised that it must be blood. Her body froze while he circled her and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. He looked her in the eyes and she felt that she couldn't look away.

"You are not going to scream," he said and she felt herself nod. "I am a bad, bad man, and I will kill you, but you won't try to run," he continued. Fear built up in her heart, and even though she wished she could move, she couldn't. Tears started to run down her cheeks. He smiled maliciously. "That's more like it. Now, let's see what you've brought for dinner." With that, he lunged forward and buried his teeth in her neck. Greedily, he sucked in the essence that was life until her body became lifeless. Carelessly, he dropped her to the floor and walked over to the window. On the way, he grabbed a glass from a table and drowned the brown liquid in one gulp. He hated himself for what he did, but it was all too late. That was who he really was. A monster. He realised it the day she left. Absent-mindedly, he took the silver pendant from where it lied on the floor. Twisting the heart around in his hands, he let himself think back at a time when he thought he had a shot at happiness. Her face flashed before his inner eye, laughing happily, green eyes sparkling. He shook his head and the image was gone in a flash. Angrily, he tossed the pendant across the room. Maybe he would leave it here this time. He had tried so often before, but somehow, he just couldn't. He was still weak. She had made him weak and he hated her for it. A sigh escaped his lips. Even with all the anger inside him, he couldn't help but wonder where she was right now. Or rather, who she was right now. Elijah's companion? A normal, human mother? A heartless monster just like he was? The uncertainty drove him mad at times.

While he thought about all this, his phone rang. He grabbed it from the nightstand and pulled his brows up in surprise.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, brother?" he asked with a poisonous tone in his voice. He hadn't talked to Stefan in 2 years.

"You have to come back to Mystic Falls," was the answer.

"Let me think about it… Go back to the town in the US that probably hates my guts most and where a certain werewolf would kill me the moment I step into his sight; all just because my brother's in the mood for some quality family time – no!" he shot back sarcastically.

"Let me handle Tyler. I need you to do something important for me," Stefan said.

"And what would that be? Save Elena? Again? Not interested, Stefan."

"It's not that," he paused briefly " I proposed and I want you to be the best man at my wedding."

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**One last short scene to go before we go back to full-on story mode. hang on!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated as well :)**


	40. The Call

**Finally - the last one of the short ones (I have to admit, the first one came naturally, but the other three were a bit of a drag - it's really hard not mentioning the main character's name). The next chapter will then have them all together. So be sure that drama is on its rise. I hope you're excited - I know I am!**

**And thanks again for the reviews! I can't believe there's people still reading this story when there's so exciting stuff going on with the show right now - you're just great and I don't regret putting myself out there like that.**

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The slender, brunette woman in her mid-twenties was just unloading another one of the moving boxes when her phone rang. She stroked her hair behind her ear, took a deep breath and answered it.

"Hello?"

"You're getting married? Congrats!" her former best friend screamed into the phone. She couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Bonnie. You're not mad at me for not telling you in person?" she asked a bit insecure.

"Please, having Jeremy tell me counts as much. We're trying to get back to Mystic Falls asap. He still needs to finish this one piece, though," she got informed and couldn't help but feel proud of her little brother, the artist. After he had gone to college and arranged his first gallery showing, orders flew in naturally. And he was only 25.

"Don't hurry. The wedding isn't until next month," she gave back casually.

"I know. An August wedding. You've picked the most beautiful month," her friend mused. She was glad that Bonnie had left her old grumpiness behind. After moving away from Mystic Falls and starting a life with Jeremy, she had blossomed. As she had done herself. Studying psychology at Hollis and moving to Roanoke had given her the needed distance and she felt at ease returning to her hometown now. After Stefan's proposal at the night of her graduation, she had felt not only unbelievably happy, but also a bit anxious. Their wedding would bring people together who still had some beef. She just hoped they would figure it out and not ruin her day.

"I can't wait to see you again," she now said to her friend.

"Me too. It's been too long. I'll call you as soon as I know more, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. See ya!"

"Bye!" her friend hung up. She was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the wall. Should she call him now? She knew she had to, sooner or later. But it was never something she did willingly. Her bad conscience was still nagging on her. Hearing a key being turned in the door, she turned around and saw her fiancee entering with more boxes.

"Hey, honey. This ought to be the last ones. You alright?" he added when he saw her serious face.

"Yeah, sure. Bonnie just called. She's not mad," a smile appeared on her face.

"That's good, right?" he asked and walked over to give her a short peck on the lips. "Have you called Elijah yet?" he added. Her face became serious the moment he mentioned the person she dreaded speaking to.

"No, not yet. Do you really think she would come?" she asked, anxious to hear an answer she didn't like. It would mean a lot to her if Claire would show up and she could finally set things right with her. Stefan brooded over her question for a moment before he wrapped her tightly into his arms.

"I know it's important for you that she comes, but honestly, we don't know where she stands right now. The only thing you can do is talk to him. He'll know," he said, re-assuringly. She sighed and nodded softly. During the last five years, one of them had talked to Elijah every once in a while to hear about Claire's progress. The first few calls weren't pretty, but now they hadn't heard from them in almost a year.

"You're right, as always. Let's give it a try," she said and freed herself from his embrace. Taking in a deep breath, she dialled his number and walked over to the window. After a few long seconds, he answered. "Now or never," she thought and invited him to her wedding.


	41. Making Amends

**Alright, guys. We're back on regular mode now! And thank you soooo much for the reviews! it felt really great to see that you're still there and also anxious for the last few chapters. I hope this story isn't too long.**

**So, here's my newest one, I'm happy that I got my drive back so easily, and I hope you enjoy it!**

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Damon parked his car in front of the Mystic Grill and looked at the familiar building for a moment. It was not in his best interest to return to Mystic Falls, but he owed his brother one. Besides, even if he would never admit it to anyone else, he was honoured that his brother wanted him as his best man.

"Showdown," he mumbled to himself and got out of the car. He had decided to show his face at the Grill the instant he arrived, so that there were no speculations about him. Better to get it over with now. When he entered and walked towards the bar, he could hear a few people stopping their conversations and talking about him. Playing the town's favourite badass was his speciality, and so he leant against the bar in rock star-like fashion and gestured the bartender for a drink. He put a glass in front of him and filled it with Bourbon. Damon smirked. They still seemed to know his favourites around here. Upon bringing the liquid to his lips, a familiar scent reached his nostrils, though, and he almost laughed out loud when he recognised that there was vervaine in it. He shot a challenging look towards the bartender, who was watching him anxiously, before drowning the whole glass without even so much as blinking. His little vervaine-diet seemed to pay off.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" he heard a familiar voice from his left and turned to face his old friend.

"Alaric! Still drowning your sorrows at the Grill? It's good to see you, too!" he said sarcastically and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm not drowning anything; I stopped drinking a few years ago. Not that it's any of your business," the teacher gave back. Damon raised a brow in surprise.

"Oh, really? And why's that?" he asked challengingly. Alaric nodded over to a cute strawberry blonde woman about his age.

"Found my better half. And I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't turn this one," he said and laid special emphasis on every word. Damon turned away and shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll see. I'm here for the wedding, but if I get too thirsty and she's the first thing that comes my way, I can't guarantee anything," he said mockingly. In a flash, Alaric had pulled him against his chest, faking a nice buddy-hug, when in reality; he had catapulted a stake right through Damon's stomach.

"I'm not kidding, Damon. Just because you were gone for the past few years doesn't mean that I've let my guard down. I'll be watching you," he threatened him. Damon gasped and pulled the stake out of his stomach. Hiding it in Alaric's jeans pocket, he freed himself and shot him looks that could kill.

"Huge. Mistake. Friend," he spat and before Alaric could say anything, he made for the door. Letting out a short, sigh, he turned around and walked back to his wife.

"How did it go?" she asked, concerned. He had told her everything about Damon, secrets were something foreign to them. He rubbed his forehead and took her hand for comfort.

"About as worse as you could imagine. Be careful, Fay. He might try to get to you," he said. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Don't you worry about me, bear. I can always handle a vampire," she said and gave him a huge smack on the lips. Alaric smiled to himself and once again thanked all greater powers that he had found her.

* * *

In the meantime, Stefan was on his way to the Lockwood Mansion. Damon had called him yesterday to report that he would be back later today, and he wanted to make sure Tyler was in check. He parked his car and walked up to the front door. Before he even had a chance to knock, the door swung open and a little, blond-haired girl was standing there. She smiled at him in a friendly way.

"Well, you must be Lily. You've grown quite a lot since I last saw you," he greeted Caroline's daughter. Even now, h couldn't believe how this was able to happen, but he knew that it had been a miracle and a good thing to happen to Caroline and Tyler.

"Are you Damon?" she asked bluntly.

"No, I'm his brother, Stefan. Is your dad home?" he asked her, quite surprised that she knew about his brother.

"Yep, he's upstairs with mom. I'll get them," she quickly chimed and headed off. Stefan tried to get in, but found his way blocked. "Of course," he thought "it's Tyler's possession now, and he hasn't invited me in yet." He focused on the staircase when he heard footsteps. Tyler came his way, followed by Caroline, who was holding Lily. Her face was friendly, but not so much her boyfriend's.

"Stefan," Tyler said, suspense hung in the air between them almost visible. He shook his hand and stood there, looking at Stefan expectantly.

"Hello Tyler, Caroline," he greeted politely. "As you may know, Elena and I are getting married and there's something I want to discuss with you," he started off. Tyler's eyes hardened.

"If this is about your brother coming back, forget it. As soon as he steps into my sight, he's done," he threatened.

"Daddy, don't talk that way!" the little girl interrupted. Tyler shot Caroline a pleading look and she vanished out the door with her. Focusing back on Stefan, he leant casually against the doorway.

"Look, man, I don't have any beef with you, but that brother of yours… first he killed my uncle, then my mum, Stefan! I can't just let that go."

"I know. But it's important for Elena to have the wedding in Mystic Falls. It would mean a lot to me, too if you could set aside your differences just for that one day," Stefan pleaded.

"How do you know he won't do anything stupid again? Do you really think he can resist coming back here without stirring up trouble?" Tyler asked. Stefan sighed and looked at him, a bit sadly.

"I don't know. But I'll do my very best. And he always had a hard time saying no to Elena. Trust me, Tyler, the last thing I want is any trouble. I promise," he pleaded. Tyler looked uncomfortable, but finally let out a defeated sigh.

"Alright, man. I'll behave if he does. Consider it a wedding gift," he said. Stefan smiled and nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks, Tyler. It means a lot to us. We're having a dinner tomorrow at the lake house and like to invite you and your family to join us," Stefan said.

"I'll think about it. Have a nice day," Tyler said a bit sarcastic and turned away to close the door.

"Bye," Stefan mumbled and walked back to his car. He really had to keep his brother under control. Especially if she was coming. They still hadn't heard back from Elijah, but somehow, he already knew that drama was ahead.

* * *

Claire was lounging on the huge sofa in the drawing room of her London home, sipping on a glass of the finest Scotch. She was wearing an expensive, red cocktail dress, ready to go to a charity dinner that she had no interest in.

"Ah… How dazzling you look, sweetheart," a male voice interrupted her thoughts. She glanced over to the door, where he was standing, smooth and relaxed as ever.

"I don't think I'll go," she said, eyeing the Scotch. The liquid seemed far more interesting to her than that event. He walked over and leant down; sitting next to her and bending dangerously close over her.

"Only one word and you know I can keep you entertained the whole night," he offered with a raspy voice. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Their bickering had become a constant in her daily life.

"Over my dead body, Kol," she said and shoved him off her. She loved him like a brother, but his prsistent flirting was going on her last nerve. Walking over to the liquor cabinet, she grabbed her phone from a table and dialled Elijah's number. She hadn't heard from him in a while, and he was supposed to meet her here tonight. When he didn't pick up, she turned to face his brother, who was watching her with intense eyes. "You can wipe that smirk off your face, I won't be answering your prayers tonight," she said while pouring herself more of the liquid. He was behind her in a flash.

"How long will it take you to finally let go?" he asked softly while kissing her bare shoulder. The atmosphere had suddenly changed and she knew that he was being vulnerable now. She sighed and allowed herself to enjoy his touch. He was right, she was holding back. It would be easy with him. At least at first. But she just couldn't.

"I'm afraid it will never happen, Kol," she said silently and leaned against his body. He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes. It felt good being there. When Elijah had finally gotten a hold of the coffins that held his family, she was not sure what they would be like. It turned out that Rebekah hated her; Finn was indifferent to her and Kol… Well, at first she wasn't too fond of him, because he seemed like a self-centered spoiled brat, but when she got to know him better, he had shown her his softer side. Claire didn't let herself be fooled, though. He was still a psychopath. Only yesterday did she have to take care of two dead teenagers who just couldn't resist him. She had never tried to change him, being in no position to give moral lectures when she herself had been so immoral the first 2 years after leaving Mystic Falls. Once again, she thanked the Gods that she hadn't slept with him back then. It would have made things a lot worse. Luckily, her state had become gradually better now. She felt almost sane again.

"I have time, Claire," he brought her back to reality. "I could wait a lifetime for you." She swallowed and squeezed his hand comfortingly. His words comforted her.

"I know," she said sadly, "but I don't want you to." She freed herself from his grip and looked him in the eyes, bringing a hand up to stroke his cheek. "I'm not the right girl for you, Kol. Don't waste your time hoping for something to happen that is never going to. I love you, but like I would love a brother," she explained once again. His eyes hardened and she sensed danger. He let go of her and turned to leave the room. When he was gone, Claire dropped down on the sofa again and let out a deep sigh.

"Not the best thing you could've said," a familiar voice interrupted her sorrows. She looked up and saw Elijah standing in front of her. "But also not the worst," he continued and she got up to hug him shortly.

"What took you so long?" she asked impatiently while offering him her glass of Scotch. He dismissed it with a wave of his hand and walked over to the fireplace. Hands in his pockets, he was standing with his back to her, and she knew that something had happened.

"I received a call yesterday. Better said, an invitation," he began. Claire grew anxious.

"An invitation to what?" she asked, clearly on edge. He turned around and faced her.

"To Miss Gilbert's wedding," he said calmly. Her eyes widened slightly and she swallowed.

"Who's she going to marry?" she asked, hoping to hear an answer she liked.

"Mr Salvatore, of course." When she shot him an annoyed look, he added "Stefan Salvatore."

"Well… are you going?" she tried to play calm. He stepped closer to her now and took her right hand into both of his. She looked at him warily.

"If you are ready, we can go. She told me it would mean a lot to her if you would be there. What do you say?" he caressed her hand tenderly. Claire waited a few moments before answering him.

"I think I can handle it. It's time to make amends," she said with a strong voice. His eyes softened for a moment and he cupped her gorgeous face in his hands.

"You don't have to make amends to anyone. It was you who sacrificed yourself for them," he assured her, stroking his thumbs across her cheeks. She leant into his touch and closed her eyes for a second.

"But I hurt them when I left, and I feel terrible about it," she admitted.

"Stop tormenting yourself, you have done nothing wrong," pulling her into an embrace, he inhaled her scent. He had never thought that while helping her getting her humanity back, some of his would also return. He was still indifferent and cold to a lot of things, but not with her. With her, he felt safe.

"Alright," she sighed "let's do this, then."

* * *

**Further news: I've started planning Elena's wedding, and I mean REALLY started to plan it, it's almost embarrassing. I've gone full-on colour scheme, flower bouquet, bridesmaids dresses, table decorations-mode. I seriously have to get a hobby. Let's just hope I'll be able to write it exactly as beautiful as I imagine it. Maybe I'll post a few pictures on my profile (even though I sort of dislike people doing that, but with a wedding dress, i think I'll make an exception).**

**And as always: reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	42. It's always darkest before the dawn

**Alright, it has taken me a while - but here it is! one of the last ones. and all you Claire/Damon supporters will hopefully be really, really, really pleased with this one. Things are still beyond easy, but it's getting better... Enjoy!**

* * *

"Elena and I would like to thank all of you for joining us today. With all that we've been through, every one of you has played a part in helping us stay together. Without you, there would be no us. Cheers!" Stefan said festively while standing at the head of the huge dinner table at the Lake House. He held his glass in the air and looked deep into the eyes of his opposite seating partner, Elena. They had gathered every one who was important to them to celebrate one last time before the wedding. He shot a sideward glance to Damon, currently smirking challengingly towards Tyler, who clearly had a hard time restraining himself. It was not easy getting these two in a room without killing each other but for them, they had managed. He sat down again and started with some small talk, whilst his eyes were still fixated on Elena. She looked slightly sad and he knew what was bothering her. The one person that had made a huge sacrifice for their being together was not here. She had abandoned them. She looked at him and gave him a small smile before turning back to Fay, Alaric's girlfriend, who had taken a special liking to her. Stefan thought it was a very good thing. Elena could really use roots, and Alaric was giving her exactly that with his newly-found stability. Caroline's chiming laughter filled the room and he caught her cheering about how rude her daughter Lily was to Damon. That little girl would get far, very far. Jeremy laughed as well, Tyler looked proud and Damon silently drained his Bourbon and focused his attention on Charlie, Elena's friend from college, who was also a bridesmaid at the wedding. They each had chosen to take three bridesmaids and groomsmen along with the maid of honour and best man. For Elena, the choice was obviously Caroline, whereas Stefan had a hard time deciding between his brother and Alaric. In the end, he thought that blood was thicker than water and decided to give Damon that chance. And he had actually been surprised by this when Stefan had asked him earlier. It was the first genuine emotion he had seen his brother express since Claire had left.

"Something's wrong," Bonnie suddenly said gravely and stiffened while they were halfway through dessert. Every one looked alarmed and Charlie didn't know how to behave, nobody had filled her in on Mystic Falls' little secret. Needless to say, they have had to compel her more than once since her arrival. "There are vampires at the door," Bonnie whispered and Stefan and Damon got up and raced to the door in a flash. At the same time, the doorbell rang. Everyone else followed and they positioned themselves half in hiding when the door opened.

"Well, isn't that a welcome party? Sorry we're late," Elijah, neatly trimmed and dressed in a stunning suit, smiled at them friendly. A beautiful blonde woman was clinging to his arm, glaring daggers at Stefan.

"Dear god," Elena's fiancé muttered. When Klaus died, his compulsion had worn off and he could remember Klaus' sister, Rebekah - the one standing in the doorway at that very moment. Elena shot forward and smiled at them politely.

"Please, do come in," she offered and they entered. Behind them, first hidden from sight, another pair came up. Elena felt a lump building up in her throat as she caught sight of the emerald eyes that she had missed so dearly during the last few years. Every one stood there like petrified while Claire and her partner stepped closer.

"Hello, Elena," Claire said softly and her eyes sparkled with compassion. Before she even knew what she was doing, Elena had flung herself into her friend's arms, closely followed by Caroline and Bonnie. The four girls formed a huge group hug, and when they let go of each other, all of them had tears in their eyes.

"I can't believe you came," Elena sobbed. "I thought you hated me for what I did to you."

"I couldn't hate you, Lena. I only hated myself. I'm so sorry," Claire replied.

"No, I'm sorry," Elena answered and hugged her friend again. The man next to Claire sighed theatrically.

"If you're done with the group hugs, can we go inside, please? I'm starving!" he nagged Claire and Elena. The witch punched him in the stomach teasingly and turned to her friends.

"May I introduce to you Kol Michaelson, a particular pain in my ass during the last few years," she said laughingly. Her friend's eyes widened.

"Oh, you know you like it," he teased her with a sexy voice before shaking hands with all of the girls. Claire had to grin involuntarily. Elena invited them in and they greeted everyone else.

"Is he here, too?" Claire pulled Elena aside before they were about to return to the dining room. Her friend looked confused before realising who she was talking about.

"Oh, actually, he was here the whole time, I don't know where he went," she confessed. Damon seemed to have disappeared. A sad look appeared on the witch's face.

"I see. He doesn't want to see me anymore. I blew it," she sighed. Elena stroked her arm comfortingly.

"Maybe he just wanted to say hello in a more private setting, just wait," she encouraged her friend and led her back to the table. Outside, Damon turned his gaze away from the house and the things he just heard. As soon as he had seen her, he just bolted. Somehow, he couldn't stand to see her so soon. And Elena was right; he needed privacy to talk to her. To tell her all the things that he waited to tell her all those years. He just didn't know yet whether it was the good or bad ones.

* * *

The rest of the dinner went surprisingly well. Everyone had a lot of catching-up to do with Claire, and it almost felt like she was her old self. A slight flight of panic arose when Elijah revealed that Rebekah and Kol were also Originals, but after having been re-assured that they were not here to create havoc, every one settled down again. Elena squeezed Claire's hand as often as she could; trying to show her in a non-verbal way how glad she was that her friend was back. Claire returned them with genuine smiles.

"What a night," Stefan sighed after he had closed the door on their last guest. He embraced his fiancé and kissed her hair softly.

"I know, do you think the wedding's gonna be this exhausting?" she asked him.

"I fear even worse," he chuckled lightly. He was glad to have everybody gone, especially Rebekah, who had tried to talk to him alone the whole evening. He seriously hoped that she wouldn't cause too much drama. "I have to tell you something," he started and looked Elena in the eyes.

"What is it?" she looked alarmed.

"Remember when I told you that five years ago, Klaus' compulsion over me had worn off?"

"Yeah, that was so strange," Elena said.

"Well, I know Rebekah from back then, from the twenties," he said. It was better to tell her straight away. Lies hadn't brought them very far in the past.

"And you're not going to tell me that she was just 'a friend'?" she asked.

"No, we were together. I think she's still not over me. Klaus daggered her at that time, and she has been dead until 2 years ago. But don't worry; I don't feel anything for her anymore. I just wanted you to know," he stroked her arm comfortingly.

"Well, I guess I have to trust you on this one. And I do," she said sincerely and kissed him. He pulled away for a short moment.

"Thank you," he whispered and in a flash, he had taken her up to their bedroom where they did a lot more than kiss.

* * *

Claire and the Originals arrived at the Mystic Bed & Breakfast not long after they had left the lake house. Still sitting in the car, the witch grabbed the steering wheel until the white of her knuckles was visible. The sight of the house arose unwanted memories, it was where she spent her last hours before leaving Mystic Falls so long ago. On the passenger seat, Kol studied her closely. Elijah and Rebekah had taken another car, and were already inside.

"What's going on, darling?" he asked softly. A small smile appeared on her face. He could be so tender, so caring. After their last fight, it had taken him two full days before speaking to her again; two days in which he was Satan personified. And now, he was sweet, caring Kol again. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned on his shoulder.

"I love you, you little psychopath, you know that, right?" she asked while staring into nowhere. He chuckled slightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Do you always declare your love in such a charming way? I guess it's the best I'll get from you, huh?" he asked her playfully. She snuggled closer into his chest and kept staring at the building.

"I don't want to loose anyone I love ever again," she whispered. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. She looked her most vulnerable and it almost broke his non-existent heart.

"You'll never loose me. I'll love you until the end of time," he ensured her and gave her a soft kiss. It was not their first kiss, and Claire closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling. If he would just always be like this, she could definitely imagine being with him. But she knew that he was more unpredictable than April weather.

"I have to take care of something," she said slowly while he was nuzzling her hair. She had never really told him what had happened with Damon, or the feelings they shared, but she was sure that he had talked to Elijah about it.

"I know," he said firmly and let go of her. He got out of the car and smiled at her comfortingly while she drove away. After she was out of sight, he had entered the Grill in a flash, full on his monster-mode. Already on the hunt for his next victim…

* * *

After leaving the dinner, Damon had driven around a bit, trying to get his mind off Claire. Without success, he had returned to the boarding house and put all his hopes in his best Scotch. He stared into the fire while thinking about how their first face-to-face encounter would be like. He dreaded it and only hoped it would be somewhere private. He knew that the place she was most likely to stay was the B&B, and he could just go over there and see her now. The guy she was with crossed his mind though. Kol, what a stupid name! Damon wondered if she was with him, but would she have asked for him if she were?

"Oh, fuck it!" he contemplated and got up from the big couch in a flash. He grabbed his jacket and made his way to the door. He just had to see her. Talk to her. Kiss her, touch her, feel her... The fact that he was angry as hell at her didn't necessarily drain out the lust-part. He grabbed the door and jerked it open only to freeze the next moment. Right in front of him, hand raised in the air, ready to knock – stood Claire. She had a slight surprised look on her face and he could immediately tell that she had been crying or close to before.

"Hi," she started. "Apparently, I missed you at dinner and I just thought I'd say hello," she started and he had never before seen her so insecure. He was fuming, but all he could do was stare at her intensely while she shifted around nervously. "Alright, I guess that was hello then. I'll leave now," she said and turned around.

"Oh, no, you don't," he suddenly said and before she had time to turn around properly, he had her pinned against the wall and captured her mouth with kisses. She was shocked at first, but found into his rhythm naturally and they made out like teenagers. All the while, Damon couldn't believe that he was finally kissing her again, and that it felt like it did right at the beginning. Claire's thoughts were racing in her head, there was so much wrong with how they had begun their reunion, but while she felt his sweet tongue her mouth, she knew that this was right. Damon and her, it felt right, it felt real, and it felt so good. She completely gave in to him and didn't even notice when he had carried her to his bedroom. When he lay her down on his bed, he stopped kissing her for a second. They looked into each other's eyes and didn't say a word. The situation was just too absurd, too breathtaking to say anything. Hungry for his kisses, she brought her mouth to his again and they lost themselves completely in each other's hands, kisses, sounds and bodies...

* * *

**Thoughts? Fears? Dreams? Please review ;)**


	43. First day of my life

**I'm not gonna apologise this time, cause I know I must sound like a broken record. It's not like I have some sort of writer's block (which amateur-authors don't really get, btw), it's just been extremely crazy this last few months. 2012 has it out for me, and I mean really, really bad. I've decided to not complain, but to find some sort of balance with my stories – the only things I have control of.**

**At this point, I absolutely can't believe the support I've gotten from all of you! Thanks so much for sticking around. It means the world to me. And I'm glad I can entertain you for a few hours. Concerning this chapter: a breather for Claire and Damon, and a (at least in my perception) great soliloquy by Kol. ENJOY!**

_This is the first day of my life._

_I swear I was born right in the doorway  
I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed  
They're spreading blankets on the beach_

_Yours is the first face that I saw. _

_I Think I was blind before I met you. _

_I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been, but I _

_know where I want to go. _

_So I thought I'd let you know. _

_These things take forever, I especially am slow. _

_But I realized that I need you, and I wondered if I could come home._

Heavy raindrops were drumming gently against the window, and Claire was slowly awaking from what was the most beautiful dream she'd had in years. It was about Damon; she dreamed that everything was okay with them. Refusing to open her eyes and let the memory of his touch slip, she moved her hand along the other side of the bed, where she usually found Kol. She had quickly found out that it was no use kicking him out of her bed in the mornings, he would always return. Somehow, she even enjoyed sleeping next to somebody. Even if that somebody wasn't Damon. Her fingers slid along the soft linen until she caught hold of some skin. Naked skin. Claire sighed and started to cuddle against the chest. So he was naked. This wasn't a first, and she decided to just ignore it. Cool hands grabbed her by the waist and pressed her closer, and when she realized that she was naked, too, her eyes opened in shock. She had to blink a few times to convince herself that she wasn't still dreaming, but she really was snuggled up against Damon's chest, looking straight into his eyes. Eyes which were blue like the ocean after a heavy storm. He gave her a crooked smile and she remembered last night. All those years, she had waited for the moment he laid next to her again, and now, it felt almost surreal. She was paralysed, speechless even. All Claire did was staring into those beautiful eyes.

"Mornin'," he softly mumbled. She gave him a shy smile and returned his greeting. A bit embarrassed, she tried to free herself from him, but he wouldn't let her go. "I've waited five frikkin' years to hold you in my arms again, I'm not letting you go now," he said matter-of-factly. She couldn't help but grin broadly and snuggle closer.

"I'm so sorry, Damon," she began after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"I know, but let's not spoil the moment, alright?" he gave back. She looked at him critically.

"Why would I spoil something by apologising?" she asked a bit annoyed. His logic didn't appeal to her.

"Let's just not talk right now. We can do that later," he didn't play along with her, and before she could protest, he had shifted her around so that he was on top of her and started planting kisses along her collarbone. She involuntarily moaned, but when she tried to continue their argument, he had his hot mouth on hers and kissed her senseless. Needless to say his distraction worked.

"I've been extremely tolerant with all those vamps coming into town, but if that missing girl lies drained somewhere in the woods, I can't look away any longer!" Sheriff Forbes was fuming with anger. Stefan and Caroline were in her office and tried unsuccessfully to calm her down.

"All the vampires know that they have to be discrete if they want to attend the wedding. We'll find out where she is as soon as possible, Liz," Stefan said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Starting right now," Caroline added. Before her mum had said anything more, she had grabbed Stefan and dragged him out of the police station. "We should check the B&B, I bet Elijah's got something to do with it," she told him. Stefan grunted.

"Or rather: Rebekah or Kol," he added, earning an annoyed look from the blond vampire. They got into his car and drove straight to the place. After arriving, they compelled the concierge to give them the room numbers and walked up to the rooms. After knocking on the first one, Elijah opened.

"Ah, what a nice surprise. Mr Salvatore, Ms Forbes, would you like to come in?" he offered and they stepped inside the huge suite. Rebekah was lounging on a chaise, wearing a rather tiny bathrobe and reading the morning newspaper. She eyed them for a moment, but choosed to ignore them. Elijah offered them drinks, but they politely declined.

"We're here because a girl is missing. She was last seen at the Grill last night, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" Stefan cut right to the case.

"Well, that's interesting. Does it not take 24 hours to declare a person missing?" Elijah inquired.

"Not in Mystic Falls," Caroline answered. "We've been extra-careful."

"And you automatically assume that we have something to do with it?" the Original looked slightly displeased.

"Of course they do," Rebekah entered the conversation. She slowly got up from her position, robe dangerously close to open. Some red lace was visible through some of the slits. "We are the big, bad ancient vampires, and they are the good ones. Having fun playing CSI: Mystic Falls in your spare time, Stefan?" she tried to provoke him.

"The Sheriff asked us to look into the matter. We want to keep a low profile, you both know that," Stefan didn't loose his temper.

"That's understandable. I can inform you that we didn't have anything to do with it, but perhaps, you should ask our brother. He's not one to take commands," Elijah suggested and gestured to the door. They quickly looked at each other and left the suite.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please don't kill any humans while here," Stefan told Elijah at the door and then they left for the next room. They knocked, but nobody opened. Both tried to listen in to what was happening in the room, but all they could hear was loud rock music. Caroline stepped in front of the lock and broke it open in only a second. They stepped inside, expecting to find both Kol and Claire, but the only thing they saw was the missing girl in Kol's arms, half-conscious, dressed only in her underwear. He had his teeth in her neck, and both vampires flashed towards him to get her off him. He put up a bit of a fight, but they overpowered him. Stefan stormed away with the girl while Caroline stayed behind to take care of the Original.

"Hello, darling," he said slowly and husky while wiping the blood off his mouth. She involuntarily took a step back when he approached her in all his shirtless glory. Caroline thought he was very handsome, and she had enjoyed his funny comments last night; but right now, he was danger personified. "You took away my breakfast," he said slowly.

"I'm sorry about that, but we have to stay discrete in this town. The girl was already reported missing," she said hastily in what she hoped sounded confident way. He had now closed in on her and eyed her up and down. Apparently, he liked what he saw, because he shot her his trademark arrogant smirk.

"One word: boring. You're all too mainstream here. When have you stopped being a vampire?" he provoked her. Caroline inhaled sharply before answering him.

"I'm still one. I just have responsibilities here," she said. Before she could move, he had grabbed her from behind and moved to the large glass window. He was holding her in an embrace, mouth next to her ear. Goosebumps found their way down Caroline's spine while he softly nuzzled against her hair.

"Look outside, Caroline," he instructed. She looked down on the main town square, where people were going about their usual business. "You think you owe them, but in reality, they're just food," he continued while running his hands down her side "Do you have any idea what this attitude will bring you? Nothing. In a few decades, they will all be gone and nothing stays for you. Don't treat them like they're equals, we are the superior race here." Caroline slowly shook her head. She broke free and turned around, fire in her eyes.

"That's not true. You never had somebody that loved you unconditionally. I have a family here; a family who would never betray me like yours did; that's what I'm protecting. Not the people of Mystic Falls, only those I love. I feel sorry for you, because you will never know what that's like," she was angry now. He actually looked shocked for a moment before his eyes went hard.

"And tell me, darling, were will this family be in a 100 years? Do you really think that werewolves live forever?" he provoked her. Her brows went up in surprise. "Yes, I know that you're with a werewolf, and I also now this other little, 5-year-old secret of yours that is a danger to all of you," he continued and closed the gap between their bodies in one short stride. Slowly, he bent down his head until his lips were only inches from hers. Caroline didn't know what to do; whether to move or to stay, and somehow, she was too mesmerised by his eyes that she could move. "Therefore, I have a suggestion," he continued "you do as I say and let me suck dry all the girls I want, or I'll kill your most precious possession." Cold shivers ran down her spine. He traced her arm with his cold fingers. "If you let me be... I'll come back for you in a hundred years, after everyone you ever loved is dead, and then, my darling, then I will show you what it means to be a real vampire," he whispered those last few words and before she could move, he pressed his lips against hers. She would have expected a harshness in a kiss from Kol, but it was soft and tender, full of longing. For a moment, she could understand why Claire was protective of him. There were really two sides to this particular original coin. Before she could even think clearly, he had already drawn away and she found herself standing alone in the room. She shook her head and touched her lips absent-mindedly. Did that really just happen? How the hell was she supposed to feel now? Should she tell Tyler? She walked downstairs to find Stefan waiting for her outside. He shot her a questioning look, but she just got in the car and gestured him to drive. Time to think was what she needed now.

After dropping Caroline off, Stefan made his way to the Boarding House. He was staying at Elena's, but Claire's absence startled him, and he thought that he knew exactly where she was. He pulled up in the driveway and stopped the car in shock. All sorts of things were flying through the upstairs windows. Books, mattresses, pillows, clothes. After the initial shock, he flashed inside and upstairs where he found Claire and Damon, both barely dressed, in a heated argument.

"I would have died for you and your safety! And this is how thankful you are?" she screamed at him.

"You were the only one I ever truly loved, but instead of staying and trying to fix it you left me! You broke my heart!" he argued back. Stefan was shocked. This is not how he expected their reunion to be like. Not at all. After sending a few books Damon's way, Claire actually lunged at him. Of course she didn't really accomplish much, Damon just blocked her and held her tight against his chest. She was drumming on it with her hands with less and less strength. After a minute or so, she gave up and buried her face in his chest. Her body was shaking and Stefan could tell that she was crying. After exchanging a short look with his brother, who nodded, he left the room. Apparently, Damon had everything under control.

"I'm sorry I broke your heart. I was broken myself," Claire sobbed against Damon's chest. He gently stroked her hair and looked out of the window.

"I know, princess. I know. But that doesn't mean that I was still pissed," he said. She freed herself from his embrace to look at his face.

"Was? Does that mean that we're okay now?" she asked, her face tear-stained, her eyes and nose swollen. She had a truly genuine and emotional look on her face, and even if Damon would have felt otherwise, he would not have been able to say no.

"Claire Blackheart, would you do me the honour and be my date to a certain wedding?" he asked with a smirk on his face. She looked shocked for a moment before melting away in his arms.

"Yes. Yes, I would love to!" she said and he leaned down to give her a passionate kiss.

_And you said "this is the first day of my life  
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you  
But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you  
And I'd probably be happy"_


	44. Note 2

Hello dearest readers,

I know it's been very, very long since I posted the last chapter, and this is just a quick update on how it's going.

I've been working on the final chapter for some while now, which is more than hard, as you can imagine. I don't necessarily want to end with any loose threads or incomprehensible choices. So, trust me, I'm trying to deliver my very best.

It might take some time, though, seeing as my boyfriend of 6 years has just broken up with me because he needs to 'find himself'. Unnecessary to say that writing a love story is a bit of a challenge now. But I have so much love for Claire and Damon that it'll be fine. Only not just right now.

So hang in there with me, and thank you a thousand times for reading, favouriting, following and of course... reviewing! You always make my day.

Lots of love,

isabella


	45. Note 3

Oh, wow... it has been so long. And I feel so bad for letting this story stay one fucking chapter short. If you hate me, I completely understand that.

But please know that when I said in a previous note that 2012 has it out for, 2013 tried to destroy me. Both my parents died of cancer, and I have been re-organising my life ever since. And I am still not there.

There's a lot of things going wrong for me at the moment, but I am really trying to work them all out. One of the smaller things is this story. I promise that at the end of March, you will have the last chapter. I want to finally finish it myself.

Maybe I didn't so far, because it is such a nice lovestory to hold on to, and the only really romantic thing in my life; who knows? (as you can all guess, I am still single)

So please, please, please - bear with me, IF you are still there.

Much love to all of you,

Bella


End file.
